Britain calls in Chinese charged affaires over alleged Cyberhacking

• Britain accuses Chinese state-backed hackers of stealing data from Britain’s elections watchdog.
• The hackers stole voter registration data of about 40 million people from the Electoral Commission.
• The new National Security Act would require individuals working for a country in the “enhanced tier” to record their activity.

On Tuesday, Britain summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in London after accusing Chinese state-backed hackers of stealing data from Britain’s elections watchdog and conducting a surveillance operation against parliamentarians. Britain stated that the Chinese hackers stole the voter registration data — mostly names and addresses — of about 40 million people from the Electoral Commission and attempted to break into lawmakers’ emails.

“The (Foreign Office) set out the government’s unequivocal condemnation of Chinese state-affiliated organizations and individuals undertaking malicious cyber activity against UK democratic institutions and parliamentarians,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that the government is close to finalizing a new foreign influence registration system that would mandate anyone working undeclared for a foreign country in the so-called “enhanced tier” to declare their activity.

Under Britain’s new National Security Act, individuals, such as lawyers, a public relations company, or an undercover spy working for a country in the “enhanced tier,” would have to record their activity in a register or face prosecution.

On Monday, British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden stated that China’s alleged hacking of British democratic institutions meant there was a “strong case” for including the country in the enhanced tier.

The Chinese embassy in London denied the spying allegations, stating that the claims were “completely fabricated” and that it would make “a justified and necessary response.”

Previously, the British government has stated that it would be inappropriate to label China a “threat” because it is too simplistic to view relations with the world’s second-biggest economy through a single word.

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