英国防省にサイバー攻撃　中国の関与指摘する声も

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国のグラント・シャップス国防相は７日、下院で証言し、国防省の給与システムが大規模なサイバー攻撃を受け、氏名・住所や銀行口座などの個人情報が漏えいしたことを公表するとともに、「国家が関与した可能性を排除できない」との認識を示した。一部議員は、中国が攻撃に関与したと主張している。（写真は資料写真）
　シャップス氏は、最近退役した兵士を含め、最大２７万２０００人の情報が漏えいした可能性があると説明。「悪意を持った主体による仕業であることが強く示されており、国家の関与の可能性を排除できない」と述べた。
　ただ、中国が関与した疑いについては明言せず、「今回の出来事は高まる一方の脅威に英国がさらされていることの新たな証しだ」とのみ語った。
　一方、対中強硬派のトビアス・エルウッド議員はＢＢＣラジオに対し、「給与システムに含まれる氏名や銀行口座情報を狙うのは中国のやり方だ。情報を利用して従わせる標的を見つけ出す計画だ」と話した。
　これに対し中国外務省の林剣報道官は、「当該英議員の発言はまったくばかげている」とし、「中国はいかなるサーバー攻撃についても常に断固反対し、取り締まっている」と反論した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/05/08-17:25）

The British government said Tuesday it could not rule out state involvement in a mass cyberattack on the personal details of armed forces personnel that some lawmakers blamed on Beijing.
China furiously denied that it was behind the hack on a contractor's payroll system used by the defence ministry that contained the names, banking details and addresses of tens of thousands of serving and veteran British soldiers.
We do have indications that this was the suspected work of a malign actor and we cannot rule out state involvement, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had earlier said there were indications that a malign actor has compromised the armed forces payment network but stopped short of naming China.
MP and former minister Tobias Ellwood said it had the hallmarks of a Chinese operation.
Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel's bank details -- this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced, the ex-soldier and former chairman of a parliamentary defence committee, told BBC radio.
But during his update to parliamentarians on the data breach, Shapps would not be drawn on whether China was responsible.
This incident is further proof that the UK is facing rising and evolving threats, he said.
Shapps said up to 272,000 serving personnel might have been affected, including some recently retired veterans.
He added that initial investigations had found no evidence that any data has been removed, and said the government had taken immediate action to protect those targeted, including taking the system offline.
I want to apologise to the men and women who are affected by this. It should not have happened, he told the House of Commons.
Cabinet minister Mel Stride told Sky News television, which first reported the breach, the government was not currently pointing the finger at Beijing.
That is an assumption... We are not saying that at this precise moment, he said.
But he said that the government viewed Beijing's government as an epoch-defining challenge. Our eyes are wide open when it comes to China.
Sunak, speaking on a visit to southeast London, added that the government had set out a robust policy towards China, which was becoming increasingly authoritarian at home and more assertive abroad.
- 'Utter nonsense' -
Beijing hit back quickly at the claims from Ellwood, a China hawk who has publicly criticised Beijing's crackdown on rights in Hong Kong.
The remarks by relevant British politicians are utter nonsense, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
China has always firmly opposed and cracked down on all types of cyberattacks.
The UK and the United States in March accused China of a global campaign of malicious cyberattacks in an unprecedented joint operation.
Britain accused China of targeting the Electoral Commission watchdog and the email accounts of parliamentarians.
The Electoral Commission attack was identified in October 2022 but the hackers had been able to access the commission?s systems for more than a year.
China called that accusation malicious slander.
In June 2023, Google subsidiary Mandiant said online attackers with clear links to China were behind a vast cyberespionage campaign targeting government agencies of interest to Beijing.
Washington has also frequently accused Beijing of cyberattacks against US targets.
Last month two British men, including a former UK parliamentary researcher, appeared in court in London accused of spying for China.
Sunak's government has come under pressure to take a tougher line on China, and last month announced a hike in the country's defence budget to guard against new and emerging threats.
On a visit to Poland, Sunak singled out China, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, describing them as an axis of authoritarian states.