MI5 warns of cyber threat from China

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 3 Dec 2007 at 16:53

MI5 has sent a letter to 300 UK companies warning of the threat from Chinese hackers, according to reports from the Times.

The letter, written by MI5 director general, Jonathan Evans, warns that many companies are under threat from "Chinese state organisations", and that some have already been the victim of coordinated attacks.

The article claims that Rolls Royce and Royal Dutch Shell have both been subjected to "sustained spying assaults" which aimed to steal sensitive commercial information.

MI5 will neither confirm nor deny that they sent such a letter. "We're not prepared to comment on a leaked private correspondence," a Home Office spokesperson told PC Pro.

As early as 2001, the then foreign secretary, Robin Cook, warned MPs that computer espionage could be a bigger threat to the UK than terrorism. In September this year it was claimed that attacks on government computers were perpetrated by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The US, too, has expressed concerns about security threats from China; a US congressional advisory panel recently labeled computer attacks from China "the single greatest risk" to US technology.