{"id":75553,"date":"2024-03-26T09:15:05","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T09:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/china-denounces-malicious-slander-as-us-uk-nz-accuse-beijing-of-cyber-attacks-on-democratic-institutions\/"},"modified":"2024-03-26T09:15:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T09:15:05","slug":"china-denounces-malicious-slander-as-us-uk-nz-accuse-beijing-of-cyber-attacks-on-democratic-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/china-denounces-malicious-slander-as-us-uk-nz-accuse-beijing-of-cyber-attacks-on-democratic-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"China denounces \u2018malicious slander\u2019 as US, UK, NZ accuse Beijing of cyber attacks on \u2018democratic institutions\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>The United States, Britain and New Zealand have accused Beijing-backed cyber groups of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions \u2014 allegations that were denied by China.<\/p>\n<p>In rare and detailed public accusations against China \u2014 Washington, London and Wellington described a series of cyber breaches over the last decade or more, in what appeared to be a concerted effort to hold Beijing accountable.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--left  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1823824\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The US Justice Department charged seven Chinese nationals over what it said was a 14-year \u201cprolific global hacking operation\u201d designed to aid China\u2019s \u201ceconomic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Monday said the campaign involved more than 10,000 emails being sent, targeting US and foreign-based businesses, politicians, candidates for elected office and journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Washington said a unit, dubbed APT31, was behind the attacks, describing it as a \u201ccyberespionage program\u201d run by China\u2019s powerful Ministry of State Security out of the central city of Wuhan.<\/p>\n<p>The hackers gained access to \u201cemail accounts, cloud storage accounts, and telephone call records\u201d the Justice Department said, monitoring some accounts for \u201cyears\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Hours later, London said that from 2021-2022 the same APT31 group had targeted UK lawmakers\u2019 accounts, including many who were critical of Beijing\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<p>With Britain expected to hold a general election within months, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden also made a shock announcement that \u201ca Chinese state-affiliated entity\u201d had likely \u201ccompromised\u201d the country\u2019s Electoral Commission.<\/p>\n<p>He said that both campaigns against lawmakers and the Electoral Office, while a \u201creal and serious threat\u201d, were ultimately thwarted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will not impact how people register, vote or otherwise participate in democratic processes,\u201d Dowden said.<\/p>\n<p>Two individuals and one company linked to APT31 have been hit with UK sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>In a parallel announcement, New Zealand on Tuesday said its Parliamentary Counsel Office, which drafts and publishes laws, had been compromised around the same period.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand, normally one of China\u2019s strongest backers in the West, blamed the Chinese \u201cstate-sponsored group\u201d APT40 for the attack.<\/p>\n<p>Recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1781172\">elected<\/a> centre-right Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admitted it was a \u201cbig step\u201d to blame the cyber attack on China, his country\u2019s biggest trade partner.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he had instructed diplomats to \u201cspeak today to the Chinese Ambassador, to lay out our position and express our concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat conversation has now taken place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"malicious-slander\" href=\"#malicious-slander\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>\u2018Malicious slander\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In recent years, Western nations have been increasingly willing to expose malicious cyber operations, and to point fingers at foreign governments \u2014 most notably China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--left  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1636137\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But China reacted angrily to the accusations, with embassies in London, Wellington and Washington issuing denunciations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UK\u2019s hype-up of the so-called \u2018Chinese cyberattacks\u2019 without basis and the announcement of sanctions is outright political manipulation and malicious slander,\u201d the Chinese embassy in London said.<\/p>\n<p>China has \u201cnever encouraged, supported or condoned cyberattacks\u201d the embassy said.<\/p>\n<p>It was a similar message from Wellington, where the Chinese embassy accused its hosts of \u201ccompletely barking up the wrong tree\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a matter of fact, China is a major victim of cyberattacks,\u201d the embassy said.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said that China has responded to the hacking allegations, stating that evidence the UK provided was insufficient, <em>Reuters<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBritain\u2019s accusation is unprofessional,\u201d the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>Both Russia and China have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1814184\">accused<\/a> of using cutouts and off-site groups to carry out cyberattacks, making attribution more difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, one of the targeted UK lawmakers, said Beijing should be labelled a threat to the country.<\/p>\n<p>He was one of several UK MPs sanctioned by China in 2021 because of criticisms of human rights abuses against China\u2019s Uyghur minority and in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p>Britain and the United States operate vast cyber operations of their own, although rarely acknowledge them in public.<\/p>\n<p>The two nations, along with New Zealand, Australia and Canada are part of the FiveEyes intelligence sharing network.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States, Britain and New Zealand have accused Beijing-backed cyber groups of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions \u2014 allegations that were denied by China. In rare and detailed public accusations against China \u2014 Washington, London and Wellington described a series of cyber breaches over the last decade [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/03\/261141565d0e43d.jpg?r=115141","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}