Details of British military personnel exposed in data breach
UPIMay 07
UK Armed Forces' Personal Details Accessed in Hack
Image copyright: Leon Neal/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
A major data breach has occurred at the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), resulting in the unauthorized access and theft of personal information belonging to military personnel.
The MoD's third-party payroll system, which houses the bank account details and identities of both former and current armed service personnel, was the target of the hack. The department reportedly acted quickly and disconnected the contractor-run external network.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
China's cyberwarfare against the UK must be viewed as a hostile action and should be treated as such. Beijing has clearly demonstrated that it presents a fundamental risk to the UK, and this recent attack must result in a drastic policy shift. This reckless cyber behavior is utterly unacceptable.
Pro-China narrative
This is a deliberate and coordinated effort to tarnish China's reputation from beginning to end. The PRC was not involved in the hacking of the UK Ministry of Defence, and Beijing strongly rejects any unfounded allegations of cyberattacks driven by political motivations. This disinformation by the UK is unacceptable.
Nerd narrative
There is a 44% chance China will carry out a cyberattack on Taiwan's electricity infrastructure before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.