The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in the United Kingdom has expressed concerns over the ongoing escalation of online threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), causing alarm among many.
According to a report by Nikkei News on July 12th, NCSC CEO Felicity Oswald stated in an interview that both China and North Korea represent the largest cybersecurity threats in the world. Furthermore, the ease with which any country can purchase malicious software has led to a constant stream of cybersecurity challenges that endanger the security of nations and businesses, raising growing levels of apprehension.
Oswald told Nikkei News that the UK’s cybersecurity agency is closely monitoring the CCP’s increasing cyber threats and its evolving approaches to handling cybersecurity issues. She emphasized, “The actions taken by the CCP in cyberspace over the past 18 months should concern all of us.”
Using the “Volt Typhoon” incident as an example, Oswald remarked, “This represents an alarming escalation by China, and it’s of great concern.”
Earlier reports indicated that US intelligence agencies had warned at the beginning of this year that a CCP-funded hacker group called “Volt Typhoon” had infiltrated key infrastructure networks in the US for a period of five years. Chinese authorities have denied these allegations.
During the CyberUK2024 conference held in Birmingham, UK in May, officials from the US and UK issued warnings about the “irresponsible actions” of CCP-backed hackers that are contributing to making the world wide web less secure.
US National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr stated during the conference that the Chinese military has “devoted significant resources to building their cyber programs” and intends to implant capabilities within foreign civilian infrastructure to potentially cause “serious disruptions” in times of crisis.
Coker stressed, “The US government has identified and disrupted efforts by the Chinese military to pre-position themselves on our critical infrastructure networks, and we will continue to push back.”
Director of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Anne Keast-Butler highlighted at the conference that UK intelligence agencies are working in collaboration with the Five Eyes alliance, industry partners, and academia to counter and combat cyber threats originating from China, among others.
Keast-Butler emphasized, “While Russia and Iran pose direct threats, China represents a ‘historic’ challenge.”