GCHQ boss says China’s ‘real’ cyber menace ‘weakens safety of web for all’

GCHQ now “devotes more resource to China than any other single mission,” in keeping with the intelligence company’s director, Anne Keast-Butler.

China poses an “epoch-defining challenge” to the UK, she mentioned at CyberUK, the National Cyber Security Centre’s convention in Birmingham.

Last week, Sky News found China had hacked the Ministry of Defence’s payroll system and in March, Chinese hackers had been accused of stealing information about UK voters from the Electoral Commission.

After information about final week’s assault, China’s overseas ministry mentioned it “firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyber attacks” and “rejects the use of this issue politically to smear other countries”.

However, the UK’s cyber safety leaders are clear.

“China is increasingly working with others to try and reshape the world,” mentioned Ms Keast-Butler.

“Through their coercive and destabilising actions, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) poses a significant risk to international norms and values,” she mentioned.

Responding to China is her “top priority”, Ms Keast-Butler added.

She mentioned: “In our on-line world, we consider that the PRC’s irresponsible actions weaken the safety of the web for all.

“China has built an advanced set of cyber capabilities, and is taking advantage of a growing commercial ecosystem of hacking outfits and data brokers at its disposal.

“China poses a real and growing cyber threat to the UK.”

The threat from China has changed over the last decade, according to Japan’s deputy national security adviser Keiichi Ichikawa, who was also speaking at the event.

“Traditionally, China performed cyber assaults to steal know-how, however now it’s about cyber assaults towards essential infrastructure,” he said.

In March, Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon was caught hacking into US infrastructure projects. The White House’s national cyber director Harry Coker said the attack marked a shift in tactics.

Mr Coker mentioned: “This was the first time we saw an entity position itself into our critical infrastructure with the clear intent to disrupt our ability to mobilise against [them].

“[China’s] hackers are engaged on circumventing our defences and concentrating on our pursuits at an unprecedented scale.

“They are doing this for one reason, to hold critical infrastructure at risk in a time of global competition.

“In a disaster or battle state of affairs, China will wreak havoc on civilian essential infrastructure to discourage US mobility.”

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Cyber threats across the UK are growing dramatically.

An common UK organisation skilled 788 weekly assaults in 2023, in keeping with information from cyber safety agency Check Point.

As of early May, that quantity leapt to 1,078 weekly assaults for a median organisation. That’s a 36% leap in only one 12 months.

As elections loom around the globe, cyber safety specialists are ramping up their defences to attempt to defend nations from hacks.