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Chinese hackers targeted top UK officials: Report
Chinese state-linked hackers targeted phones of senior UK officials and aides from 2021 to 2024, exposing private communications at Downing Street, according to multiple security sources.
- The Daily Telegraph reported the operation ran from 2021 to 2024, targeting mobile phones of senior Downing Street officials and aides to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
- China has sought political intelligence on MPs and decision-makers in British politics, and UK security sources say it has targeted Britain’s telecommunications systems more broadly while downplaying success claims.
- Reports note earlier incidents, including a 2022 hack of Liz Truss’s phone, while Boris Johnson was warned to stop using his private mobile and technical experts recovered WhatsApp messages, with agents suspected of working for Russia initially blamed.
- Senior former government figures said they did not recognise the Telegraph’s account and MI5 would have known of any surveillance, while UK security services' investigations found no evidence the operation succeeded.
- Critics say the hacking claims demand a rethink of China policy, with Alicia Kearns and MPs urging a tougher stance and warning phones should be assumed targetable.
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Chinese Hackers Reportedly Breached Phones At "Heart of Downing Street"
Chinese Hackers Reportedly Breached Phones At "Heart of Downing Street" Chinese state-linked hackers reportedly accessed mobile phones “at the heart of Downing Street” as part of a long-running cyber-espionage campaign targeting telecom networks worldwide, according to Fox News. U.S. intelligence agencies believe the breaches began as early as 2021, though they were publicly revealed in 2024 after American officials warned allies about widesprea…
·United States
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China has been hacking into the mobile phones of people in the British government for years. The revelation comes just before Prime Minister Keir Starmer's state visit to China this week.
·Stockholm, Sweden
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources51
Leaning Left1Leaning Right19Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution76% Right
Bias Distribution
- 76% of the sources lean Right
76% Right
C 20%
R 76%
Factuality
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