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UK and allies hold Chinese state responsible for a pervasive pattern of hacking

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2021-07-19 12:00:09

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UK joins likeminded partners to confirm Chinese state-backed actors were responsible for gaining access to computer networks via Microsoft Exchange servers.

The UK is joining likeminded partners to confirm that Chinese state-backed actors were responsible for gaining access to computer networks around the world via Microsoft Exchange servers.

The cyber attack on Microsoft Exchange Server by Chinese state-backed groups was a reckless but familiar pattern of behaviour.

The attack was highly likely to enable large-scale espionage, including acquiring personally identifiable information and intellectual property. At the time of the attack, the UK quickly provided advice and recommended actions to those affected and Microsoft said that by end of March that 92% of customers had patched against the vulnerability.

Today the UK is also attributing the Chinese Ministry of State Security as being behind activity known by cyber security experts as “APT40” and “APT31”.