China calls accusations it hacked MoD ‘completely fabricated and malicious slanders’
China has called accusations it hacked the Ministry of Defence “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.
Sky News revealed on Monday night China is behind a massive data breach involving the MoD.
The government will not name the country involved when a minister makes a statement to parliament today, Sky News understands, but two or three attempts were made to hack MoD employees – including personnel.
A cyber attack on an MoD payroll system was carried out, with names and bank details of current army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel and some veterans exposed.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London denied the country had anything to do with an MoD hack and said it had made “relevant responses” to accusations on the 25 and 27 March.
He accused the UK of politicising cyber security and claimed there was no factual evidence of China hacking the MoD.
The spokesman said: “I will hereby reiterate that the so-called cyber attacks by China against the UK are completely fabricated and malicious slanders.
“We strongly oppose such accusations. China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law. China does not encourage, support or condone cyber attacks.
“At the same time, we oppose the politicisation of cyber security issues and the baseless denigration of other countries without factual evidence.
“China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK.
“We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-China political farce.”
Read more:
Can UK have its cake and eat it after China MoD hack?
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China: Hacking allegations ‘absurd’
The attack was focused on a contractor system that is not connected to the main MoD computer systems. It has now been taken down and a review launched.
All salaries will be paid this month and the MoD hopes serving personnel will not be concerned about their safety, with staff to be provided with advice and support.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is due to make a statement on the issue to the Commons this afternoon and, ahead of that, cabinet minister Mel Stride told Sky News the government takes cyber security “extremely seriously” but it is not yet pinning the blame on Beijing.
Downing Street refused to attribute the attack to a specific state or actor ahead of the statement.
The spokesman added: “In relation to the specific contractor involved in this incident, a security review of that contractor’s operations is under way and appropriate steps will be taken after that.”
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former soldier, told Sky News China “was probably looking at the financially vulnerable with a view that they may be coerced in exchange for cash”.
“And if this type of cyber attack is taking place here in the UK we can assume other NATO countries will be targeted too,” he added.
Read more:
Beijing poses ‘constant’ threat to western cybersecurity
China ‘trying to undermine our democracy’
Sir Iain Duncan Smith says the government needs to stand up to China. File pic: PA
China is winning the war
Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by China, told Sky News: “China is behind this.
“And the reluctance, I think, comes from this panic that somehow if we upset China, China will kill the business.
“That’s not going to happen because China is so desperate at the moment for trade. We’ve got to recognise if we don’t stand up for the defence of our freedoms or human rights, the right to speak out, if we wish it then we will be worth nothing in the free world.
“I’m afraid China is winning on this war and we’re not even prepared to accept that it is a war.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the hack was “deeply concerning” and the government “has got questions to answer”.
Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said Beijing has carried out many cyber attacks on Britain but the UK has only retaliated once in the form of sanctioning the companies carrying out the attack rather than the Chinese government.
“So I think you can see that there’s a broader pattern within the UK government, really not to upset China if they can avoid doing it even when we’re on the receiving end of offensive cyber attacks,” he said.
He added that FBI director Christopher Wray “put it pretty starkly” when he said Beijing’s cyber espionage programme is so vast it is bigger than all its major competitors combined.
The hack targeted an MoD payroll system. File pic: Reuters
Not China’s first cyber attack on UK
The MoD has been working at speed over the weekend to understand the scale of the latest hack but it is understood investigations have not so far shown any data has been taken.
However, the hack could raise questions about whether other countries with challenging relationships with China will want to share sensitive intelligence with the UK.
The attack comes less than two months after “state-affiliated actors”, alleged to be working on behalf of China, were blamed by the government for two “malicious” cyber attack campaigns in the UK.
Backbench Tory MPs accused the government of not going far enough, with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick calling the government’s actions “feeble and derisory”. The foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns deemed them “sadly insufficient”.
Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century.
The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.
Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few rounds but I won more of them.
“Make no mistake I won that fight and I’ll be back.”
In response Usyk said he was “ready for a rematch”.
Pic: Action Images via Reuters
Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.
At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.
The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.
Pic: PA
Fury lunges at Usyk. Pic: PA
But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble. The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was saved by the bell.
Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).
Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.
Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.
Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.
Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.
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UK
Brixham: Warning ‘heads are going to roll’ after water parasite outbreak – as ‘nearly every house in one close has someone ill’
Thousands of homes have had their boiling water restrictions lifted after a water tank infected with cryptosporidium was drained and cleaned, South West Water has said.
About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease.
On Saturday afternoon South West Water lifted the boiling restrictions for 14,500 homes after water quality monitoring results found no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to vomiting, stomach cramps and watery diarrhoea lasting about two weeks.
More cases are expected to be confirmed due to a delay in developing symptoms – and about 100 more people around Brixham were reporting signs of it on Friday.
South West Water believes the parasite probably entered supplies through a damaged pipe in a field containing animal faeces.
A contaminated water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where cryptosporidium was detected, was drained overnight and “thoroughly cleaned” on Saturday, South West Water said.
One local resident said she knew of only four houses out of 21 in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, which have not had at least one person fall ill with cryptosporidiosis.
The local MP has warned “heads are going to roll” over the incident.
Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, whose constituency includes Brixham, told LBC: “This is such a serious matter that yes, I think heads are going to roll over this.”
He claimed the supplier had been too slow to issue its safety alert.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
Mr Mangnall said: “From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in – meaning thousands of people used the water network – to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.”
He called it an “absolutely disastrous week” and said locals were furious.
South West Water has said it’s “deeply sorry” and that it’s been “working tirelessly” to identify the source of the problem and fix it.
Bottled water stations have been set up in the area.
Read more:
What we know about parasite found in drinking water
Parasite outbreak has ‘destroyed’ business
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of not doing enough to hold water companies to account.
He told Sky News the firms were “putting profit over the environment, over public health” after multiple cases of sewage being released into rivers and seas.
“We [Liberal Democrats] wouldn’t wait for fines for pollution,” Sir Ed said.
“There should be a sewage tax on the profits of these water companies so we can get the money now.
“There needs to be much tougher regulation… and we may need to look at restructuring the whole water industry.”
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Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest
It comes as dozens of protests over sewage releases were planned for Saturday.
Surfers Against Sewage is promoting “paddle-out” demonstrations at 30 locations, with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes among those at the event in Brighton.
The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled.
There are now 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area.
Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to the south Devon town are also under investigation. Hundreds of locals have also reported feeling unwell over the last two weeks on social media.
MPs and South West Water officials have confirmed the parasite most likely entered water supplies through animal faeces, but an investigation is still ongoing.
What is cryptosporidiosis disease?
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‘Cow faeces’ infected Devon water
The UKHSA first confirmed cases of the disease at around midday on Wednesday, while locals were initially told by South West Water that their tap water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.
But after testing supplies in the Hillhead reservoir, the water company found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – and told residents in parts of Brixham and Alston to boil their drinking water on Wednesday.
A total of 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton were impacted and offered £15 compensation at first.
Over the next two days, South West Water apologised to those affected and increased the offer to £115. Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors on Thursday due to not having safe running drinking water.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
‘Very hard questions for water company’
Speaking to Sky News yesterday, South West Water’s chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew confirmed it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the outbreak.
However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would be ongoing – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.
Speaking on Friday at the University of Exeter, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said there will be “very, very hard questions” for South West Water over the outbreak.
“At the moment I think we probably need to give them the space to conduct their investigation; we know that they have identified the source,” she said.
“The public will want to know how on earth that source happened, what was the chain of events that led to this, because of course we all understand the expectation that we all have when we turn our taps on is that [we get] clean drinking water and we want to be able to trust it.”
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Most cases of cryptosporidiosis pass in two weeks. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock
‘Expect to see more cases’
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall also warned the boil notice could last “at least a further six or seven days” and called for more transparency.
Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News if the parasite was “a continuous thing” present in water supplies for a prolonged period, then “you’d expect to see more cases” for another two weeks.
It comes as hotel owners in the area told Sky News the outbreak has led to people cancelling their stay, while a head chef said “I can’t wash salad in the sink”.
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‘Destroyed our business’
Stephen Colemansfield, owner of Redlands Guest House in Brixham, told Sky News the outbreak has “destroyed our business at the moment”.
“Our guests have cancelled because of the mixed messages that are being sent out by South West Water.”
Rob, head chef at the Steam Packet Inn in Kingswear near Dartmouth, also said his brother-in-law is one of the 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis and has been sick for two weeks.
The UKHSA is working with Torbay Council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency on the incident.
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