China is accused of hacking the payroll system for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence. The BBC and Sky News report that the severe data breach exposed the personal information of active military personnel and veterans. The information mainly consists of full names and bank details, but in some cases, it might also include personal addresses.
Affected individuals are being notified, and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps should provide MPs with a more detailed update today. He is anticipated to outline a plan of action for protecting anyone whose data was compromised. All salaries are expected to be paid as usual this month.
In a statement, China’s foreign minister said the country “firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyber attacks” and “rejects the use of this issue politically to smear other countries.” However, this isn’t the first time the UK and China have clashed over security concerns. In March, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden accused China of being behind an August 2021 hack of the Electoral Commission, as the BBC reported at the time. The UK also banned TikTok — owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance — from all government devices in March 2023, claiming protective measures.