China Denies Involvement In Massive UK Military Data Hack

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will update MPs on a cyber attack on a database containing details of armed forces personnel amid reports China was behind the hack. A third-party payroll system has been hacked, potentially compromising the bank details of all serving personnel and some veterans. A very small number of addresses may also have been accessed. Issue date: Tuesday May 7, 2024. 76094561 (Press Association via AP Images)

The personal data of UK armed forces’ personnel, including names and bank details, was compromised in a sweeping cyber attack on a third-party payroll system.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday that immediate steps were taken to secure the network, although the true scale and fallout of the breach remain under tight scrutiny.

The breach, first flagged by media outlets including BBC and Sky News, prompted the MoD to pull the affected external network offline. Despite no current evidence of data extraction, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is slated to brief Parliament on Tuesday, amid concerns over the security of military personnel’s sensitive information.

Ministers began pointing fingers at “hostile and malign actors” for orchestrating the attack. While most stopped short of naming any state directly, senior Tory Tobias Ellwood suggested the attack’s focus on a payroll system “points to China” and might indicate a “strategy to see who might be coerced.”

China’s foreign ministry countered accusations that Beijing orchestrated the cyber-attack, stating, “China firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyberattacks. China also rejects use of this politically to smear other countries.”

In the meantime, affected personnel are being offered specialist advice and data protection services to mitigate any potential misuse of their compromised information.

Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey voiced critical concerns: “So many serious questions for the defence secretary on this, especially from forces personnel whose details were targeted. Any such hostile action is utterly unacceptable.”

This incident draws into sharper focus the ongoing cyber tensions with China, as previously accused by the UK and US of conducting extensive “malicious” cyber operations. The current breach, while unattributed, dredges up unresolved issues regarding the UK’s stance on China, which some British MPs argue hasn’t been stern enough.