Britain believes China is behind attack on its election commission

The United Kingdom believes that the attackers who carried out a cyberattack on the British CEC in the past and gained access to the personal data of millions of voters are linked to China.

This was reported by the BBC.

The attack on the election commission took place in August 2021, but it became known only last year. It is believed that several MPs who were critical of Beijing were also targeted in the cyberattack.

Acknowledging the attack last August, the election commission said that unidentified "hostile actors" had accessed copies of the electoral registers and hacked into its email and monitoring systems. The commission added that this had no impact on the election or anyone's registration status.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will address parliament on Monday about the threat. It is believed that he will link the perpetrators of the attack to Beijing, as well as outline how Britain will respond to wider threats.

Publicly identifying the attackers sets the stage for potential legal and political action, such as sanctions or diplomatic protests.

Linking the attackers to China, which is a member of the UN Security Council, would escalate diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The three MPs believed to be victims of the attack - former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, former minister Tim Loughton, and Stuart Macdonald - will be briefed by the head of parliamentary security. They are members of the All-Party Parliamentary Alliance

Author - Olena Madiak, 25/03/2024