Hackers stole data in UK government cyberattack, minister confirms

• UK confirms October hack of Foreign Office system, data possibly stolen
• Risk to individuals deemed low; investigation continues, attribution unclear
• Chinese state actors suspected but not officially confirmed

The UK government has confirmed speculation that classified government servers were hacked and accessed by threat actors, as former chief advisor Dominic Cummings brought to light.

Reports assessed (as did Cummings) that Chinese state-sponsored threat actors broke into a system belonging to the UK government in October and possibly stole data like visa information.

Now, Trade Minister Chris Bryant has confirmed the findings on BBC Breakfast, but played down the importance of the hit. According to the BBC, a threat actor broke into a system operated by the Foreign Office, on behalf of the Home Office. The break-in was addressed “pretty quickly”, and a more thorough investigation is currently ongoing.