Tuesday briefing: Why the US and UK are going public with warnings about Chinese hacking

In today’s newsletter: Information about 40 million UK voters was stolen by Chinese spies in a hack that also targeted elected officials. A cybersecurity experts walks us through whether these are isolated incidents, or the tip of a digital iceberg

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Good morning. You’re probably not an MP or peer on the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), so that part of yesterday’s cyber-attack revelations needn’t concern you excessively. If you are among the 40 million UK voters included on a register held by the Electoral Commission, though, I have bad news: the Chinese government has your personal details.

Yesterday afternoon, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden laid out sanctions in response to the attacks – in the case of the Electoral Commission hack, more than three years after it happened. In co-ordinated announcements, the US announced sanctions over a years-long campaign involving 10,000 malicious emails sent to politicians, journalists and businesses, and New Zealand said it had raised concerns with Beijing over an attack on its parliament in 2021.

Israel-Gaza war | The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage. Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned White House visit by two ministers, while the Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called the result a belated “vote for humanity to prevail”.

US news | A New York court has handed Donald Trump a lifeline, reducing his $454m bond to $175m over the judgment against him in a huge fraud case. Separately, the judge overseeing the hush-money case against Trump involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels refused to delay the trial, setting a date for jury selection of 15 April.

Garrick club | At least four senior judges, Sir Keith Lindblom, Sir Nicholas Cusworth, Sir Nicholas Lavender and Sir Ian Dove, have resigned from the men-only Garrick Club, the Judicial Office has said, as men in the legal profession come under increasing pressure over their close association with an organisation that has repeatedly blocked attempts to allow women to join.

US news | Federal agents have raided properties in Los Angeles, Miami and New York that local news outlets have reported are tied to rapper and mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. US media reported that the searches were part of a sex trafficking investigation, though the exact reason for the raids remained unclear.

Conservatives | Rishi Sunak is to face another tricky byelection after former Conservative backbencher Scott Benton resigned before the conclusion of a recall petition among his constituents. The Blackpool South MP was facing likely ejection from the Commons after being suspended for 35 days over his role in a lobbying scandal.

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US and UK unveil sanctions against Chinese state-backed hackers over alleged ‘malicious’ attacks

The US alleges the individuals were working as a front for Beijing in an indictment and sanctions announcement

Hackers backed by China’s government spy agency have been accused by the US and UK of conducting a years-long cyber-attack campaign, targeting politicians, journalists and businesses.

The operation saw political dissidents and critics of China targeted by sophisticated phishing campaigns, according to the US, which resulted in some emails systems and networks being compromised.

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China cyber-attacks: this growing threat to UK security will not go away

With the Electoral Commission the latest target on a list that includes the economy and supply chains, experts warn of data-gathering ‘on an industrial scale’

In March last year an integrated review of the UK’s defence and foreign policy said it would protect the country’s “democratic freedoms” from Chinese state attacks.

A few months later the Electoral Commission confirmed why democratic institutions and processes were on the threat list as it revealed that a cyber-attack – by a then unidentified assailant – had accessed the data of 40 million voters.

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Vulnerable man pleads with UK government to block extradition to US

Diogo Santos Coelho from Portugal faces a 52-year sentence for alleged cybercrime relating to RaidForums site

A vulnerable autistic man is pleading with the UK government to block his extradition to the US on cybercrime charges where he faces a 52-year sentence for alleged offending that began when he was a child.

Diogo Santos Coelho, who has been assessed as at very high risk of suicide, said he had been groomed and exploited online by adults from the age of 14 into committing the alleged crimes, which relate to the website RaidForums.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire

Leaked files shows range of services offered and bought, with data harvested from targets worldwide

A big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective clients.

The cache of more than 500 leaked files from the Chinese firm I-Soon was posted on the developer website Github and is thought by cybersecurity experts to be genuine. Some of the targets discussed include Nato and the UK Foreign Office.

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Amount of fraud in UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, report finds

Accounting firm BDO also warns of future impact of fraudsters using artificial intelligence to rip off customers

The amount of fraud committed in the UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, marking the second-biggest year for scams in the last two decades, according to a report that also warns of the future impact of fraudsters using artificial intelligence to rip off consumers.

The accounting firm BDO’s latest FraudTrack report found that the number of reported cases rose by 18% to a three-year high, and the number of high-value cases over £50m increased by 60% year-on-year in 2023. Half of the high-value frauds were over £200m.

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Company worker in Hong Kong pays out £20m in deepfake video call scam

Police investigate after employee says she was tricked into sending money to fraudsters posing as senior officers at her firm

Hong Kong police have launched an investigation after an employee at an unnamed company claimed she was duped into paying HK$200m (£20m) of her firm’s money to fraudsters in a deepfake video conference call.

The Hong Kong police force said it had received a report from a worker that she had been tricked into transferring the money by someone “posing as senior officers of the company”.

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Australia sanctions Russian citizen Aleksandr Ermakov over 2022 Medibank cyber-attack

Government uses cyber sanctions powers under Magnitsky laws for first time to target Aleksandr Gennadievich Ermakov, alleged to be responsible for hack

Australia has used its new cyber sanctions powers for the first time against a Russian citizen, Aleksandr Ermakov, in connection with the Medibank Private data breach.

Magnitsky-style sanctions laws that were introduced in Australia in late 2021 include a world-leading measure to allow the imposition of Australian travel bans and asset freezes on those allegedly involved in “significant” cyber-attacks.

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British Library begins restoring digital services after cyber-attack

UK’s national library apologises to researchers, saying full recovery could take until end of the year

The British Library is restoring online its main catalogue, containing 36m records of printed and rare books, maps, journals and music scores, 11 weeks after a catastrophic cyber-attack.

However, access is limited to a “read-only” format, and full restoration of services provided by the UK’s national library could take until the end of the year.

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The Iconic pledges to refund customers charged for bogus orders after hack

Retailer’s move comes after some shoppers said more than $1,000 had been taken from their accounts

Online retailer the Iconic has promised to refund customers who were charged large sums for fraudulent orders after having their accounts compromised.

The refund pledge follows a backlash from consumers, who have been posting their frustration on the retailer’s Facebook page.

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Chinese teenager found alive in Utah woods after ‘cyber-kidnapping scam’

Exchange student Kai Zhuang, 17, discovered in tent by police days after being reported missing

A Chinese exchange student who fell victim to a “cyber-kidnapping” scam, in which his parents were extorted for $80,000, was found alive but “cold and scared” in a tent in the Utah wilderness, police said.

Kai Zhuang, 17, was reported missing on Thursday after his parents in China told officials at his host high school in Riverdale, Utah, that he appeared to have been kidnapped and a ransom had been demanded.

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Hackers steal customer data from Europe’s largest parking app operator

Owner of RingGo and ParkMobile says data including parts of credit card numbers taken in cyber-attack

Europe’s largest parking app operator has reported itself to information regulators in the EU and UK after hackers stole customer data.

EasyPark Group, the owner of brands including RingGo and ParkMobile, said customer names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses and parts of credit card numbers had been taken but said parking data had not been compromised in the cyber-attack.

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Labor plan would give home affairs minister powers over critical infrastructure during cyber-attacks

Clare O’Neil releases consultation paper on new cybersecurity legislation, which proposes changes to Security of Critical Infrastructure Act

Australia’s home affairs minister would be able to order critical infrastructure such as energy, transport or communications entities to take or cease action during a significant cybersecurity situation, under changes proposed by the federal government.

In related changes billed as a response to the 2022 Optus and Medibank incidents, the minister could also order companies to replace personal documents compromised in a data breach, or to share customer data with banks in a bid to prevent further fraud.

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UK at high risk of ‘catastrophic ransomware attack’, report says

Parliamentary committee says Britain is vulnerable because of poor planning and lack of investment

The UK government is at high risk of a “catastrophic ransomware attack” that could “bring the country to a standstill” because of poor planning and a lack of investment, a parliamentary committee has warned.

In a damning report, the joint committee on the national security strategy warned that the UK could face a crippling cyber-attack on its critical national infrastructure (CNI) at any moment. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) describes the CNI as national assets that are essential for the functioning of society, including energy supply, water supply, transportation, health and telecommunications.

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Russian spies targeting UK MPs and media with ‘cyber interference’

Foreign Office minister tells MPs that FSB is ‘behind sustained effort to interfere in our democratic processes’

Russian spies have been targeting MPs, journalists and others with cyber hacking as part of a concerted attempt to meddle in British politics, a Foreign Office minister has said.

Leo Docherty, a minister under David Cameron, told the House of Commons that the Russian federal security service was using “cyber interference” to target politically connected people.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann ‘utterly destroyed’ by Ten broadcast, court told

Former Liberal staffer is seeking ‘substantial’ damages over The Project broadcast, lawyer says. Follow today’s news live

More than 20 people have been arrested and charged following an unauthorised pro-Palestine protest at Port Botany overnight.

According to a statement from NSW police, about 400 people gathered at the protest. Police issued a move-on direction, which they say was not complied with.

The group continued to occupy Foreshore Road, blocking vehicle movement.

That just gives a really clear line drawn that if it’s labour hire, it’s covered, if it’s service contractors, it’s not.

In terms of the conversations with the crossbench, I continue to reach out to the crossbench [and] there’s a series of meetings that continue to happen.

They’ve made a decision that they don’t want to deal with this bill until next year. I would rather we were dealing with it over the next fortnight. We certainly will be dealing with it next week in the House of Representatives.

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Labor to reconsider mandatory data retention laws for companies in light of major hacks

New cyber security strategy cites business concerns at having to store large amounts of data for excessive periods of time, increasing breach risk

Following several high-profile data breaches in the past year, the federal government will review laws requiring companies to retain data as part of its new cyber security strategy.

Released on Wednesday, the 2023-30 strategy notes that data is increasingly used for ransom attacks and as a tool for coersion.

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Australia’s critical infrastructure under regular and rising attack from hackers, ASD warns

Signals Directorate says infrastructure of interest to malicious actors because of its broad attack surface and connected systems

Just days after a major ports company was forced to shut down operations due to a cyber-attack, the Australian Signals Directorate has issued a strong warning that Australia’s critical infrastructure is under regular targeted and opportunistic cyber attack.

DP World Australia, the country’s biggest ports operator, closed its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle port operations after detecting unauthorised access on its network on Friday.

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DP World hack: Australian port operator hit by cyber-attack says cargo may be stranded for ‘days’

DP World pulls plug on its internet connection after finding hackers inside its systems

Australia’s biggest ports operator, which has been the target of a cyber-attack, says it should be up and running again within days.

DP World Australia closed its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle port operations after detecting the breach on Friday, leaving cargo and containers stuck on the docks.

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Ransomware attack on China’s biggest bank disrupts US Treasury market

American arm of ICBC is latest victim of hackers and is investigating

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s US arm was hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted trades in the US Treasury market on Thursday, the latest in a string of victims ransom-demanding hackers have claimed this year.

ICBC Financial Services, the US unit of China’s largest commercial lender by assets, said it was investigating the attack that disrupted some of its systems, and making progress towards recovering from it.

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