London and Washington accuse Beijing of cyber attacks

US and UK officials on Monday accused China-linked hackers of being behind the “malicious” cyber campaigns.

In London, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons that the Electoral Commission and accounts of UK parliamentarians had been hacked as a result of the attacks. “Chinese state-linked actors are responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting our democratic institutions and parliamentarians,” he said, adding that attempts to hack British lawmakers’ email accounts were “unsuccessful.”

The British government said in a statement that intelligence agency GCHQ “has assessed that it is highly likely that UK Electoral Commission systems were hacked by a Chinese state-linked actor between 2021 and 2022.” Intelligence task forces are “almost confident” that APT31 “conducted intelligence activities against UK parliamentarians during a separate campaign in 2021,” the report said.

Dowden said that the UK had imposed sanctions on two individuals living in China, as well as an organization associated with APT31, and that British authorities would summon the Chinese ambassador in the coming days to explain his country’s actions.

A “Chinese trace” was also discovered in the USA and New Zealand

The U.S. Treasury Department said the same day it had imposed sanctions on Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, which it described as a front company for China’s Ministry of State Security that “served as a front for numerous malicious cyber operations.” The Treasury also released the names of two Chinese citizens, Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobing, associated with the Wuhan company, whom the department believes are responsible for transactions aimed at critical US infrastructure sectors, including defense, aerospace and energy.

The US Department of Justice additionally charged Zhao, Ni and five other hackers with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud. He said their activities were part of a 14-year cyber operation “targeting American and foreign critics, businesses and political figures.”

The men were part of the China-based hacking group “APT31,” which allegedly carried out cyberattacks on White House staffers, U.S. senators and government officials critical of Beijing, U.S. officials said. The group was also involved in operations targeting British parliamentarians, British officials said.

Later that day, New Zealand’s Security Minister Judith Collins said her country’s parliament had been attacked by the group in 2021. However, Collins said New Zealand would not be able to follow the example of the US and UK in imposing sanctions against China because there was no law in Wellington that would allow it to do so.

China has denied all accusations

China’s Foreign Ministry said countries should base their claims on evidence and not “slander others without a factual basis.”

The Chinese government has denied all accusations against it. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing on March 25, China is also one of the main victims of cyber attacks. “The origin of cyber attacks is complex and sensitive. China hopes all parties will stop spreading false information,” he said.