The UK government has stated it is 'pretty confident' that sensitive information belonging to visa applicants was not stolen during a significant cyber attack on the Foreign Office.
Allegations of Chinese-Linked Cyber Attack
Reports emerged alleging that a cyber gang linked to Beijing, known as Storm 1849, targeted Government servers two months ago in October. It was claimed the hackers had accessed data related to visa applications.
The Sun newspaper reported on Thursday night that 'thousands' of confidential documents were retrieved in the breach. The same Chinese group was publicly named in March 2024 in connection with cyber attacks on MPs and the Electoral Commission.
Minister Refuses to Confirm Attribution
However, Business Minister Sir Chris Bryant refused to confirm whether a Chinese-linked group was responsible. Speaking to Times Radio, he also disputed the accuracy of some wider reports.
'I'm actually going to take some of the details that you've just put out there off the table, because I'm not sure that they're necessarily accurate,' Sir Chris said.
He emphasised the ongoing investigation, stating: 'We've been engaged in an investigation since October, just as with (Jaguar Land Rover) and M&S, and the British Library and a whole series of other cyber attacks, it does take some time to get to the bottom of precisely what has happened.'
Government Seeks to Reassure Public
The minister's primary message was one of reassurance for the public. 'We are very confident that in the investigation that we've done so far, that nobody, no individual, will have been harmed or compromised by what has happened,' he stated.
He directly addressed speculation about visa applications being affected, calling it 'speculating' and suggested The Sun's front page was 'slightly over-egging' the available details.
A Government spokesperson reiterated the seriousness with which they treat such incidents, saying: 'We have been working to investigate a cyber incident. We take the security of our systems and data extremely seriously.'
While Sir Chris confirmed 'there certainly has been a hack', he concluded that he was 'not able to say whether it is directly related to Chinese operatives or indeed the Chinese state.'
