The UK has accused Beijing-linked organizations of orchestrating two “malicious” cyber campaigns on the Electoral Commission and parliamentarians between 2021 and 2022.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told MPs that the attacks in 2021 and 2022 had compromised the Electoral Commission and UK parliamentary accounts, including those of lawmakers critical of China, according to AFP.
Britain has already sanctioned two individuals and one company linked to the group suspected of orchestrating the campaign against parliamentarians.
In a statement, the UK said Monday the country's Electoral Commission systems were “highly likely” compromised by a Chinese entity between 2021 and 2022. It added that the compromise had not affected the security of elections.
The UK has strengthened its defenses against cyberattacks, especially since the National Security Act offers the government, parliament and law enforcement agencies the needed tools to disrupt such hostile activities.
British home secretary James Cleverly said, “It is reprehensible that China sought to target our democratic institutions.”
“China's attempts at espionage did not give them the results they wanted and our new National Security Act has made the UK an even harder target,” he said, insisting the upcoming elections were “robust and secure.”
The Chinese embassy in Britain hit back, calling the claim “completely unfounded” and accusing London of “malicious slander.”
The British government is attempting to strike a delicate balance between trying to neutralize security threats posed by China while maintaining or even enhancing engagement in some areas such as trade, investment and climate change.
Britain has spent the last year trying to improve ties with China after the relationship sunk to its lowest point in decades under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, when London restricted some Chinese investment over national security worries and expressed concern over a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.
But there has been growing anxiety about China’s alleged espionage activity in Britain, particularly ahead of a general election expected later this year.
Dan Lomas, an intelligence and security analyst at the University of Nottingham, said Britain's decision to call Beijing out publicly showed the government was willing to challenge China.
It is “unlikely that sanctions and harsh words will significantly alter trade between the UK and China,” he said. “But we are going to see a war of words.”
