UK Government Confirms Cyberattack, Downplays Severity
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Chris Bryant, the UK’s Trade Minister, confirmed that the government was targeted by a cyberattack in October.
Speaking to Sky News, Bryant stated that the cyberattack posed a “small risk” to individuals. Details of the attack emerged on Friday in a report by The Sun newspaper, which alleged that a Chinese hacker group was behind the incident.
Bryant cautioned against speculation, telling news outlets that it is “not clear” who carried out the attack. “Certainly, there was a hack at the FCDO, and we’ve been aware of that since October,” Bryant told Sky News.
He added: “As you reported earlier this year about the cyber hack at JLR [Jaguar Land Rover] and Marks & Spencer, and earlier last year, I think, at the British Library, all of these are really important things that we have to deal with and be aware of and prevent as much as we possibly can.”
Bryant elaborated: “There was a technical problem on one of our sites, and we’re absolutely confident that there’s a small risk of any individual really being affected by this. I know that some of the reports suggest that different things may have happened. I think that’s more speculation than useful informing. So I wouldn’t want to create any alarm about it. We are on top of things. And also, it’s not at all clear where this has come from. I know everybody’s speculating about that as well. That’s not at all clear either.”
When asked specifically if China was behind the attack, Bryant reiterated: “It’s not at all clear.”
