Australia has joined a chorus of other nations in accusing Beijing of being responsible for cyber attacks that targeted the United Kingdom’s MPs and electoral commission.
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, particularly in the realm of cyber operations, has become a significant concern for governments, businesses, and individuals around the world.
The CCP has been known to conduct various forms of espionage to gather intelligence, steal intellectual property, and advance its strategic interests. Cyber espionage can compromise the integrity and security of computer systems and networks, leading to data breaches.
The UK government has sanctioned two state-backed hackers Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, as well as a Wuhan-based company Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd over the incident in October 2022, which saw the personal data of 40 million UK voters compromised.
The company is believed to be involved with Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT31), a cyber espionage actor tasked with funnelling political information to Bejing of MPs who are critical of the CCP. Checks were made on the UK electoral roll by the pair to identify political donors, who were sympathetic to anti-China campaigners.
The sanctions will freeze assets, and bar UK businesses from dealing with Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd, and the two individuals will also be banned from returning to the UK.
“The UK will not tolerate malicious cyber activity,” UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said.
Mr. Dowden added that the two cyber attack campaigns demonstrated “a clear and persistent pattern of behaviour that signals hostile intent from China.”
Australian Government reacts
In light of the revelations, the federal government issued a joint statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Clare O’Neil, the minister for Cyber Security, saying it expresses “serious concerns” over the malicious cyber attacks that targeted UK democratic institutions and parliamentarians.“Australia calls on all states to act responsibly in cyberspace,” read the statement.
“The persistent targeting of democratic institutions and processes has implications for democratic and open societies like Australia. This behaviour is unacceptable and must stop.”
The statement confirmed that the UK attacks did not compromise Australia’s electoral systems, saying, “Australia remains well positioned to continue to resist and address threats to our electoral roll. This is critical to maintaining public trust in our democracy.”
In 2023, the digital spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, released a report on cyber threats that identified China as the “major conspirator” in attacks on federal government agencies, critical telecommunications, and health and power providers.
About 94,000 reports of cybercrime were received in 2023, a rise of 23 percent from 2022.
“The Australian Electoral Commission has strong measures in place to ensure Australia’s electoral roll is secure. This includes working closely with members of the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce, to ensure Australia’s systems are protected from the threat of foreign interference.”
“The government continues to invest in protecting our public institutions and strengthening our national cyber security defences, including through the implementation of the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy,” the statement said.
