Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘China hack hit 270,000 of military’
Shapps apology on MOD breach
MORE than 270,000 UK armed forces staff were at risk in a suspected cyber hack by China.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said state involvement cannot be ruled out in the huge MOD attack.
He apologised after a breach of the payroll system left data exposed, adding: “It cannot happen again.”
The Government became aware of the breach in recent days.
It had potentially compromised the bank details of up to 272,000 personnel and some veterans, with a tiny number accessed.
Yesterday Mr Shapps declined to identify the “malign actor” behind the attack, amid reports No10 suspects Beijing was responsible.
He said: “For reasons of national security, we can’t release further details of the suspected cyber activity behind this incident.
“I can confirm we do have indications this was the suspected work of a malign actor and we cannot rule out state involvement.”
The MOD immediately took the external network offline when it discovered the breach.
Mr Shapps said a probe will be launched and said there is evidence of potential failings of the contractor operating the payroll system.
He said there is no evidence that data was removed from the system during the hack. INQUIRY Grant Shapps
Shadow Defence Secretary Jonathan Healey said: “Any such hostile action against our forces is utterly unacceptable.”
The Chinese embassy said claims Beijing is behind the attack are “malicious slanders”. It added: “China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law.
“We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-china political farce.”