Ministry of Defence Confirms Cyberattack Originating from China
On May 7, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense announced it suffered a cyberattack from China. The attack targeted the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force.
The Defense Department followed the announcement with a report to the parliament. However, the government failed to disclose the country behind the assault.
China was Behind the Attacks
Sources claimed that the attackers were China’s state-sponsored hackers. Additionally, they gained access to the MoD employee data.
Moreover, the hacking targeted a payroll system containing the details of active service employees and some veterans, including their names and bank details.
Nonetheless, the Mod stated that the cyberattack did not affect its ability to pay salaries and that it would do so when they were due.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and army veteran, suggested that the motive behind the attack was to identify sick and financially vulnerable service members. China will use this data to coerce them to do its bidding.
Home Secretary Grant Shapps will speak in the Commons on May 8 about the rollout of a robust scheme designed to provide immediate support to affected service personnel.
The MoD sets out to ease service personnel’s concerns about their safety and will be available immediately to provide relevant guidance and support.
Contractor System Offline for Review
To prevent further damages, the cybersecurity vendors/contractors turned off several systems until a complete inspection.
Indeed, the security breach exposed in the last few days has prompted the MoD to investigate whether some data has been stolen. Currently, ongoing investigations do not show evidence of such.
An urgent assessment may be necessary to determine the extent of intelligence collaboration with countries highly skeptical about Chinese actions.
Previous Cyberattack Attributions
This is the next step in a series of accusations by the UK Government linking cyberattacks to “state actors” from China, including the latest directing the focus towards the Electoral Commission and targeting China-skeptic MPs.
John Healey, shadow defense secretary of the Labour Party, stresses the situation’s urgency and wants the defense secretary to answer, especially considering the former demands he made on behalf of the affected forces personnel.
