An internal whistleblower alleged that the Chinese government hacked the British government's classified IT networks and has been continuously stealing secrets. According to current and former senior British security officials, Chinese government-linked actors infiltrated the government's secure networks for more than a decade and siphoned off highly sensitive materials.
Citing British government officials, Bloomberg reported on the 15th (local time) that China had accessed confidential documents related to British policy making, senior officials' private communications, and diplomatic cables. A source said, "China's hacking attempts were endless," while adding that there had not yet been any leaks involving the most sensitive "top secret" material.
The British government's classified document tiers are divided into three levels: ▲ official ▲ secret ▲ top secret. According to the government, if information at the "secret" level or higher is leaked, it can cause serious damage to national military capability, international relations, and major criminal investigations, and the information China is believed to have accessed falls under the "secret" tier.
The controversy flared after Dominic Cummings, who was chief of staff to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, told the daily The Times that "China hacked the British government's classified IT networks and stole a vast amount of 'extremely secret and dangerous if controlled by a foreign power' material." Tom Tugendhat, who served as security minister under both the previous Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak administrations, also acknowledged that "Cummings' remarks are broadly true," amplifying the fallout.
Some sources pushed back on the reporting, but others pointed to a data center in London as the conduit for the leak of secrets. The data center, which stored sensitive government data during the Conservative Party's time in power, was later sold to corporations linked to China. When security concerns were raised at the time of the sale, the government even discussed temporarily shutting the data center, but the matter was ultimately settled by strengthening security through other means. The Times reported, however, that "even top secret information was exposed (to the Chinese side)," while a British government Spokesperson countered that "the most sensitive information and systems were not compromised."
The revelations are likely to cause an even bigger stir as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces political pressure over his China policy. Since taking office, Starmer has consistently sought to improve relations with China, but recently faced criticism that the government has taken an overly complacent stance toward China.
Earlier, on the 7th, British prosecutors dropped charges against two British men arrested on suspicion of spying for China, prompting the opposition Conservative Party to accuse Starmer of kowtowing to China and to escalate political attacks. In addition, China is pushing to build the largest embassy in Europe on the former Royal Mint site near the Tower of London, and as residents' backlash has grown, calls have surged for the government to take a tougher stance.
On the 13th, the domestic intelligence agency MI5 took the unusual step of issuing a public warning to members of Parliament, saying that "Chinese, Russian, and Iranian spies are approaching politicians with the aim of undermining national democracy." According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), severe cyberattacks have risen by about 50% over the past year, and China has been identified as the "pacing threat."
Experts say the incident goes beyond a simple cyberattack and is a major event testing the entirety of Britain's security architecture. A former intelligence official said, "China's cyber warfare is not just hacking but part of its national strategy," emphasizing, "Britain must fundamentally reset the direction of its response now."