Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was hacked in October, Trade Minister Chris Bryant has said. He told Sky News that there was a low risk to “any individual” from the cyber-attack. “There certainly has been a hack at the FCDO and we’ve been aware of that since October,” Bryant said.
Details of the hack emerged on December 19 in a report by the Sun that claimed a Chinese hacking group was behind it, reported The Guardian.
Sources told The Sun that the group responsible for the hack in October was Storm 1849, a Chinese organisation that was named publicly in March 2024 in connection with cyber- attacks on MPs and the Electoral Commission. Cyber security officials have confirmed they are aiding an investigation after the minister said the UK Government had been hacked, reported BBC. It is understood a Chinese affiliated group is suspected of being behind the attack.
The UK Government has not named who it thinks is responsible, with a spokesperson saying it has been “working to investigate” the incident. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it is “working with Government partners to fully understand the impact” after Home Office systems, operated by the Foreign Office, were accessed. Speaking earlier on BBC Breakfast, Bryant said the security gap was “closed pretty quickly” and “we think that it is a fairly low-risk that individuals will have been compromised or affected”. Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “I’m not able to say whether it is directly related to Chinese operatives, or indeed the Chinese state”.
The incident has been referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office. UK intelligence agencies have warned about increasing, large-scale espionage from China, using cyber and other means, and targeting commercial and political information.
The BBC said in its report that confirmation of a hack by a Chinese state group would be awkward for the Government ahead of a planned visit to Beijing next year by Keir Starmer, the first by a UK Prime Minister since 2018. The Labour Government has said it is important to engage with China as it cannot be ignored on trade, climate change and other major issues, but face-to-face meetings also provide a forum for robust exchanges about issues affecting UK security.
