We now know China targeted the MOD – the question is, what to do about it
Sophisticated Chinese spy networks are capable of harvesting data from democracies all over the world, writes China expert Michael Sheridan. Are Western governments up to the task of taking them on?
Democracies have been complacent about a vast amount of data harvested by Chinese hackers over recent decades, thinking – in the words of a defence attache in Beijing – that they didn’t have the brains or the manpower to do much with it.
Artificial intelligence has changed all that. It targets exactly the kinds of big data sets found in the hack of an armed forces payroll system operated by a private contractor for the Ministry of Defence, which contained personal information such as bank details and addresses.
The defence secretary Grant Shapps did not name China when he spoke in the House of Commons about the breach, talking only of “a malign actor”. But across Westminster and Whitehall, there is little doubt who it was: the argument is what to do about it. None of the options are easy.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies