The Electoral Commission has since taken steps to ensure the security of its systems. (representative picture)
London:
Britain on Monday accused a Chinese state-affiliated cyber group of conducting at least two “malicious” and “reprehensible” cyber campaigns targeting British voter data and MPs.
The British government revealed in a statement in the House of Commons that the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), part of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), concluded that the country’s Electoral Commission systems were “highly likely” to have been compromised by Chinese hackers. Entities between 2021 and 2022.
The NCSC also claimed that Chinese government-affiliated APT31 “almost certainly” conducted reconnaissance activities against British MPs during another 2021 election campaign. All such attacks to interfere with UK democracy and politics were said to have been unsuccessful but resulted in sanctions being imposed on two individuals and a company linked to APT31.
“The UK will not tolerate malicious cyber activity targeting our democratic institutions. Protecting our democratic institutions and values is an absolute priority for the UK Government,” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said. “
“I hope this statement helps create broader awareness of how politicians and those involved in our democratic processes around the world are targeted by state-sponsored cyber operations. We will continue to condemn this activity and hold the Chinese government accountable .”
Dowden told the House of Commons that the malicious cyber activity had not affected the electoral process, nor had it affected the rights of British voters or their right to participate in the democratic process or register for elections. The Electoral Commission has since taken steps to ensure that similar activity does not occur on its systems in the future.
“It is completely unacceptable for Chinese state-affiliated organizations and individuals to target our democratic institutions and political processes. Although these attempts to interfere with British democracy were unsuccessful, we will remain vigilant and respond to the threats we face,” Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he said he had raised the issue directly with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“One of the reasons it is important to issue this statement is that other countries should understand the details of the threats to our institutions and democracies,” he said.
Most of the British MPs targeted included those calling out China for malign activity, but the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said no parliamentary accounts had been successfully compromised.
“China’s attempts to target our democratic institutions are reprehensible. China’s espionage operations are not getting them the results they want, and our new national security laws make the UK a harder target,” Home Secretary James Cleverley said.
“Our upcoming elections at both local and national levels are strong and secure. Democracy and the rule of law are vital to the UK. Our elected representatives and electoral processes will never go unchallenged,” he said.
The UK’s statement is said to be backed by Five Eyes allies, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The British government said the international community is calling on the Chinese government to demonstrate its credibility as a responsible cyber actor and welcomes expressions of solidarity from the Indo-Pacific region and Europe.
Through the Task Force on Defending Democracies and the National Security Act, NCSC has also published guidance on its website to help high-risk individuals, including parliamentarians, build resilience against cyber threats and provide advice to help organizations improve their security.
The UK Electoral Act 2022 also clarifies the offense of undue influence, which it claims will better protect voters from undue influence to vote in a particular way or not to vote at all, including activities that deceive voters in relation to the administration of an election or referendum. These election violations fall within the scope of illegal security duties under the Cybersecurity Law, which requires online platforms to quickly delete such content after receiving an alert.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
