UK Armed Forces data exposed in hostile cyber attack

Britain’s Defense Secretary said on Tuesday that personal information of members of the British army, navy and air force had been hacked in a serious data breach, triggering warnings about the threat today. increased from cyber attacks by hostile nations.

The attack targeted a third-party payroll system used by the UK Ministry of Defence, exposing the names and bank details of serving members of the armed forces and some veterans, as well as a few addresses.

The payroll system, which was not connected to the Defense Ministry’s internal network, was shut down, and the government did not publicly blame anyone for the data breach or confirm the claims of some journalists. legislature has pointed the finger at China.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We have indications that this is the suspected act of a malicious actor and we cannot rule out state involvement.” in a statement to Congress. “This incident is further evidence that the UK is facing increasing and evolving threats,” he said. “I’m afraid the world is getting a little more dangerous.”

Mr Shapps said an investigation had been launched into the data breach from the system by SSCL, a contractor that also operates a number of business services for London’s Metropolitan Police. He added that only a “small number” of addresses were leaked.

Previously, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to speculate on the origin of the attack but told broadcasters that the Ministry of Defense had taken the network offline and was supporting those affected.

When asked specifically whether Chinese hackers were responsible, he said China is a country “with fundamentally different values ​​than ours” that “acts in a more authoritarian way domestically.” and more assertive abroad.”

Mr Sunak said Britain faces an “axis of authoritarian states including Russia, Iran, North Korea and China” and has adopted a “very strong” approach towards the government in Beijing.

Security experts note that China has actively tried to access large troves of data in the past – including from British voters.

March He denounced China about cyberattacks that compromised the voting records of tens of millions of people and that the Chinese tried unsuccessfully to hack the email accounts of several members of Congress. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden also announced sanctions against two individuals and a company linked to a state-linked group involved in those attacks.

On Tuesday, Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the UK National Cyber ​​Security Centre, says England will wants to be “technically certain” and possibly get allies on board before formally accusing another country or criminal group. “It takes time and rightly so. Accuracy and allies are more important than speed,” he wrote on social networks.

Few countries consider spying on other people’s military assets a violation of the unwritten rules of international relations, Mr. Martin added, describing the data breach as “a serious incident.” serious, but at a lower level of severity.

Some British lawmakers have been more explicit in their criticism. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative lawmaker and former chairman of the House of Commons Defense Committee, told Sky News that China is “probably looking at financially vulnerable people with the view that they have may be coerced in exchange for cash.”

Writing on social media, Iain Duncan Smith, a Conservative Party lawmaker, former party leader and critic of the Chinese government, described the hack of the payroll database as “another example on why the UK government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK”

He added: “No more pretense, China is a villain, supporting Russia with money and military equipment, collaborating with Iran and North Korea in a new axis of totalitarian states.”

John Healey, the opposition Labor Party spokesman on defense issues, said “there are many serious questions for the Defense Secretary on this issue, particularly from Armed Forces personnel with details are targeted.” Writing on social media, he added: “Any such hostile action is completely unacceptable.”

When asked about the reports, Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was dismissive.

“The comments from relevant British politicians are completely meaningless,” Mr. Lin said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. “China has always resolutely opposed and fought against all forms of cyber attacks, and strongly opposes taking advantage of cyber security issues for political purposes to intentionally defame other countries.”

Chris Buckley Contributed reporting from Taipei.