The escalating cybersecurity war between communist China and Western countries is now undergoing significant shifts, with few fully conscious of the gravity of the situation. China’s capability to launch cyber attacks against the defense systems of the United States and the United Kingdom has become more potent than ever before. The new attack tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) developed by China’s cyber department are posing threats to the integrity and functionality of critical systems in Western countries, including military communications and operational capabilities.
Perhaps it’s why the United States and the United Kingdom are now publicly highlighting these significant threats, warning Chinese and other state-sponsored cyber threat actors to cease their provocative attacks. In response, officials from the U.S., U.K., and Europe have cautioned that China’s cyber attacks constitute destabilizing and destructive behavior. To underscore the seriousness of the situation, the U.K. summoned the Chinese ambassador as an official response to China’s increasing cyber threats.
Anne Keast-Butler, a senior official from the U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), emphasized at a security conference in Birmingham that countering Chinese cyber activities is a “top priority” for GCHQ. This is not the first time the U.K. government has confronted China’s illegal and threatening online activities, but recently, cyber threats have evolved into more severe concerns.
Just last month, U.K. Prime Minister Rushi Sunak pointed out that Chinese hackers had launched “malicious cyber attacks” against U.K. lawmakers and media, as well as carried out hacking attempts on the payment systems of the U.K. armed forces. The Prime Minister further discussed the cyber threats, stating that his country faces threats from “authoritarian axis powers such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China (the CCP).”
Additionally, British authorities have accused three men of working as spies for Hong Kong intelligence services. These individuals are alleged to be government-supported spies stealing election data from the U.K.’s electoral offices and conducting surveillance missions in the U.K. Beijing has dismissed these accusations as baseless. When asked about espionage activities and cyber attacks breaching international norms and posing threats to U.S., U.K., and European security, Beijing denied such threats, referring to the allegations as “utterly absurd.”
These incidents have strained the relationship between the U.K. and China.
A few weeks ago, Washington uncovered China’s “Vortex Typhoon” cyber attack operation, leading to formal charges. Through “Vortex Typhoon,” the U.S. discovered that China had clandestinely infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure for an extended period. The investigation revealed that Chinese hackers, through a network composed of a series of compromised servers and computers, breached the networks of dozens of crucial U.S. infrastructure organizations controlling power, water supply, civilian and military communication systems.
FBI Director Christopher Wray believes that prior to launching military actions against the U.S. or Taiwan, “Vortex Typhoon” could be used to disrupt control over critical infrastructure and other strategic assets, even if not entirely dismantled. Once again, Beijing denied any official connection to the “Vortex Typhoon” cyber attack.
At the Birmingham security conference, Harry Coker, the National Cyber Director of the U.S., stated that Chinese hackers infiltrating U.S. cyberspace defense networks are targeting U.S. interests on an “unprecedented scale.” Coker underscored the gravity of this threat, pointing out that “in a crisis or conflict situation, China can use its predeployed cyber capabilities to inflict severe damage on civilian infrastructure and impede U.S. military actions.”
The U.K. Prime Minister and GCHQ executives have emphasized their growing concerns about China’s cyber attacks and their impact on the global order. Sunak remarked that the coming years will be the “most dangerous and transformative years” for his country, while Keast-Butler noted that while Russia and Iran pose direct threats, China is the “epoch-defining” challenge.
The U.S., U.K., and Europe are not the only targets of Chinese hackers. With the escalating tensions between the Philippines and China, the Philippines has experienced a fourfold increase in Chinese cyber attacks. As China’s military strength and influence worldwide continue to rise, their level of cyber attacks against adversaries is also increasing, and the mutual relationship between the two cannot be overlooked. The U.S. and U.K. believe it is necessary to publicly condemn China.
Cyber attacks have been ongoing for decades, but there have been noticeable changes in how governments manage cyber attacks at the state level compared to before. As observed by the British, with China’s ability to penetrate even the most securely guarded systems, the coming years are likely to be “tumultuous, transformative, and epoch-defining.”
Author Bio:
James R. Gorrie is the author of “The China Crisis” (published by Wiley in 2013) and writes articles on his blog TheBananaRepublican.com, residing in Southern California.