According to Sky News, the Pentagon’s payroll system was hacked by the Chinese state, exposing the names and bank account information of current military personnel and some veterans.
Rishi Sunak said the Chinese government was “acting in a more authoritarian and assertive manner abroad” after Sky News revealed that China had hacked the Ministry of Defence.
The Prime Minister made his first comments on the following: massive data breach Tuesday lunchtime after Sky News revealed on Monday evening that China was involved in hacking the military’s third-party pay system.
He did not name China, but said that “malicious actors have compromised the military’s payment network.”
He added: “I have set out a very strong policy towards China, which means we need to take away the powers that China and other countries have used to protect us from the risks they pose to us. That’s what it means,” he added.
“These are countries that have fundamentally different values than we do and that act in a more authoritarian and assertive manner abroad.”
Mr Sunak said he wanted to reassure the public that the Ministry of Defense had already removed the network and taken it offline “to ensure those affected are supported in the appropriate manner”.
The names and bank account details of current Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel, as well as some veterans, have been exposed in a hack.
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China said the accusations were “completely fabricated and malicious slander.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London denied that China had anything to do with the Pentagon hack and said it had taken “appropriate responses” to the accusations on March 25 and 27.
He accused Britain of politicizing cybersecurity and insisted there was no factual evidence that China had hacked the Ministry of Defence.
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“China has no need to interfere in Britain’s internal affairs.”
“We would like to reiterate that China’s so-called cyber attack on the UK is a complete fabrication and malicious defamation,” the spokesperson said.
“We strongly oppose such accusations. China has always resolutely fought against all forms of cyber-attacks in accordance with the law. China will not encourage, support or condone cyber-attacks.”
“At the same time, we oppose the politicization of cybersecurity issues and baseless slander of other countries without factual evidence.
“China has no interest or need to interfere in Britain’s internal affairs.”
The attack focused on contractor systems that were not connected to the Department of Defense’s main computer systems. It has now been removed and a review has begun.
All salaries are due to be paid this month and the MoD wants staff to be able to receive advice and support without worrying about their safety.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to make a statement in the House of Commons on the issue this afternoon.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former military officer, told Sky News that China was “probably looking at economically vulnerable people with the view that they could be extorted in exchange for cash”. .
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Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is facing sanctions from China, told Sky News: “China is behind this.
“I think that hesitancy comes from a panic that if you anger China, China will destroy your business.”
Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said the hack was “deeply worrying” and the government had “questions to answer”.
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on China, said the Chinese government had carried out a number of cyberattacks against the UK, but that Britain would sanction the companies responsible for the attacks rather than the Chinese government. He said he had only once retaliated in kind.
He added that FBI Director Christopher Wray “spoken in some pretty harsh terms” when he said the Chinese government’s cyber espionage program is so vast that it is larger than all of its major competitors combined.
This is not the first time China has launched a cyber attack on the UK.
The hack could raise questions about whether other countries with difficult relations with China want to share sensitive information with Britain.
The attack came less than two months after the government accused “state-linked actors” of allegedly working on China’s behalf. Two ‘malicious’ cyberattack campaigns in the UK.
