China-linked group accused of spying on phones of UK prime ministers' aides – for years

Chinese state-linked hackers are accused of spending years inside the phones of senior Downing Street officials, exposing private communications at the heart of the UK government.

The Telegraph reports that the activity focused on phones used by senior aides around former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, with the suspected access stretching back to 2021. Intelligence sources described the compromise as extensive, with one saying the activity went "right into the heart of Downing Street," although it remains unclear whether the prime ministers' own devices were accessed directly.

Salt Typhoon, the Chinese-linked group previously blamed for telecom intrusions overseas, has been named as a likely culprit in the reported snooping. The espionage outfit is known for breaking into telecoms providers, enabling them to skim metadata and communications without ever needing to install anything on a handset.

Even without full access to message content or live calls, call ...