US, UK announce sanctions over China-linked hacks against officials, lawmakers and election watchdog | International - ExBulletin

Source: ExBulletin

The U.S. and British governments announced sanctions Monday against a company and two individuals linked to the Chinese government for a series of malicious cyber activities, detailing a years-long state-backed operation that targeted officials, lawmakers and the UK elections watchdog.

British officials said those sanctioned are responsible for a hack that may have provided access to information on tens of millions of British voters held by the Electoral Commission, as well as cyber espionage targeting lawmakers who have openly spoken about threats from China.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the hacking of electoral lists did not impact electoral processes, did not affect anyone's rights or access to the democratic process, nor did it affect the electoral registration.

The Election Commission said in August that hostile actors gained access to its servers between approximately 2021 and 2022.

At the time, the watchdog said the data included the names and addresses of registered voters. But he said much of the information was already in the public domain.

In Washington, the Treasury Department said it sanctioned Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd., which it calls a front company for China's Ministry of State Security that served as a cover for multiple malicious cyber operations.

He named two Chinese nationals, Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, affiliated with the Wuhan company, for cyber operations targeting U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including defense, aerospace and energy.

U.S. and British authorities said the two sanctioned individuals were involved in the operations of the Chinese cyber group APT31, short for advanced persistent threat. The group is also known as Zirconium or Hurricane Panda.

APT31 has already been accused of targeting, among other things, American presidential campaigns and the information systems of the Finnish parliament.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged Zhao, Ni and five other hackers with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud. He said they were part of a 14-year cyber operation targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses and political leaders.

U.S. officials said the seven hackers and other members of the APT31 group targeted thousands of U.S. and foreign individuals and companies, including employees of the White House, Treasury, Justice and Departments of Justice. State, as well as politicians from the two main political parties and their spouses.

Today's announcements underscore the need to remain vigilant against cybersecurity threats and the potential for cybersecurity-enabled malicious foreign influence efforts, particularly as the 2024 election cycle approaches, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.

British cybersecurity officials also said APT31 hackers carried out reconnaissance against British parliamentarians who were critical of Beijing in 2021. They said no parliamentary accounts were successfully compromised.

Three lawmakers, including former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, told reporters on Monday that they have been victims of harassment, identity theft and hacking attempts from China for some time. Duncan Smith said in one example, hackers posing as him used fake email addresses to write to his contacts.

The politicians are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international lobby group aimed at countering Beijing's growing influence and exposing alleged human rights abuses by the Chinese government. .

British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said his government would hold the Chinese ambassador to account for his actions.

China's Foreign Ministry said ahead of the announcement that countries should base their claims on evidence rather than smear others without factual basis.

Cybersecurity issues should not be politicized, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said. We hope all parties will stop spreading false information, adopt a responsible attitude and work together to maintain peace and security in cyberspace.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated that China is behaving increasingly authoritarian abroad and poses the greatest state threat to our economic security.

It is right that we take steps to protect ourselves, and that is what we are doing, he said, without providing details.

China critics, including Duncan Smith, have long called for Sunak to take a tougher stance on China and label the country a threat rather than a challenge to the UK, but the government has refrained from using such critical language.