Czech Authorities Blame Chinese Hacking Group for Foreign Ministry Breach

‘China has been persistently trying to undermine our resilience and democracy,’ the Czech foreign ministry said.

Jan Lipavsky, Czech foreign minister, gives a speech during the alliance's 75th anniversary celebrations at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 4, 2024. Omar Havana/Getty Images

The Czech Republic said on May 28 that a cyberattack on its foreign ministry’s unclassified network was carried out by Chinese state hackers.

Czech authorities accused APT31, a hacking group associated with China’s Ministry of State Security, of conducting the cyberespionage campaign since 2022, according to a statement published on the foreign ministry’s website. The attacks also impacted an unspecified institution considered critical infrastructure by the government, according to the statement.