LONDON: Britain summoned China’s top envoy in London on Tuesday to protest against a series of cyber-attacks attributed to Beijing-linked hackers.
The UK, along with the United States and New Zealand, accused China of cyber-security breaches over the past decade, a claim that China denied.
The cyber-attacks targeted lawmakers and democratic institutions, particularly critics of the Chinese government, according to Western powers.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in London to express the government’s condemnation of Chinese state-affiliated organizations and individuals conducting malicious cyber activities against UK democratic institutions and lawmakers.
In a statement, the FCDO emphasized that the UK government would not tolerate such threatening activities and would continue to collaborate with global partners to respond strongly.
The summoning of the chargé d’affaires occurred after the imposition of sanctions on two individuals and a front company linked to Chinese intelligence for their involvement in the cyber-attacks.
China’s foreign ministry expressed opposition to cyber-attacks and accused the United States of spreading false information about threats from Chinese hackers.
The US justice department charged seven alleged hackers for their role in what it described as a 14-year “prolific global hacking operation.”
