The governments of the US, Britain and New Zealand have accused China of being behind multiple cyber attacks against their political institutions, prompting a strong response from Beijing.

The three governments, in a rare move, publicly blamed China for a series of cyberattacks in recent years, an action that appeared to be aimed at holding Beijing to account.

The US Department of Justice announced the indictment of seven Chinese people over a widespread cyberattack campaign that spanned 14 years. He also added that a reward of up to $10 million will be offered to anyone with information about the seven men.

According to US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, these hackers targeted businesses, journalists in the US and abroad, election candidates and politicians.

The seven Chinese men allegedly sent more than 10,000 “malicious emails, affecting thousands of victims on multiple continents” in an operation the US Department of Justice said was backed by the Chinese government.

“Historical Challenge”

A little earlier the deputy prime minister of the British government Oliver Dowden told parliament that “actors linked to the Chinese state” committed “two malicious cyber attacks” in 2020 and 2021.

Dowden spoke of cyber attacks against MPs critical of Beijing and against the UK Electoral Commission.

“This is the latest episode in a series of hostile activities by China, which include the targeting of democratic institutions and parliamentarians in Britain and other countries,” Dowden said.

The attack on the Electoral Commission allowed hackers to gain access to servers containing copies of electoral rolls containing the details of 40 million voters, British media reported.

According to Dowden, “these attempts to interfere with UK democracy have failed” and will not be repeated in the next election due to be held in the coming months.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured for his part that London will do “whatever is necessary” for the security of the state and citizens and to protect itself against the “historic challenge” posed by China.

Slanders

In response, the Chinese embassy in Britain spoke of “completely baseless” accusations and “slander”.

New Zealand also in a statement accused a group linked to Beijing of hacking in 2021 the IT system of the parliamentary service responsible for drafting and promulgating laws.

New Zealand’s cyber security agency has identified a link between the group, known as the “Chinese state-sponsored” APT40, and a cyber attack on parliamentary services, New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins said in a statement today.

The attack was repelled and the group is now unable to cause harm, he assured.

Wellington has complained to the Chinese ambassador in the country, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

The Chinese embassy in New Zealand, for its part, “categorically rejected these baseless and irresponsible accusations”, expressing “its strong displeasure”.

In recent years, Western countries have appeared increasingly willing to denounce malicious cyberattacks and blame them on foreign governments, notably China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Russia and China have been accused of using front companies to carry out cyber attacks.

In September 2023, Sunak had denounced Beijing’s “interference” in the British Parliament in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Chiang, after it was revealed that two people had been arrested for espionage.