United States and United Kingdom accuse China of large-scale cyber espionage attacks

The United States and the UK have announced criminal charges, imposed sanctions, and accused China's Ministry of State Security of orchestrating a cyberespionage campaign targeting American officials, senators, journalists, companies, and the UK's election watchdog. The campaign, known as Advanced Persistent Threat 31 (APT31), allegedly compromised defense contractors, dissidents, and a variety of companies for over a decade. New Zealand also accused Chinese state-sponsored hackers of gaining access to its servers, including the electoral roll, but stated that the election processes were not affected. The US Department of Justice charged seven Chinese nationals in connection with this campaign, which aimed to harass critics of the Chinese government, steal trade secrets, and spy on high-level political figures. The UK and New Zealand have already announced sanctions against the hackers. Australia also joined in accusing Beijing of orchestrating a cyber espionage campaign and reported that its Parliamentary Service was targeted by hackers linked to China's Ministry of State Security.