LONDON: Britain on Tuesday summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in London after accusing Chinese state-backed hackers of stealing data from Britain’s elections watchdog and carrying out a surveillance operation against parliamentarians.
Britain said the Chinese hackers stole the voter registration data — mostly names and addresses — of about 40 million people from the Electoral Commission and tried to break into lawmakers’ emails.
“The (Foreign Office) set out the government’s unequivocal condemnation of Chinese state-affiliated organizations and individuals undertaking malicious cyber activity against UK democratic institutions and parliamentarians,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday the government is close to finalizing a new foreign influence registration system that would require anyone working undeclared for a foreign country in the so-called “enhanced tier” to declare their activity.
Under Britain’s new National Security Act, individuals, such as lawyers, a public relations company or an undercover spy working for a country in the “enhanced tier” would have to record their activity in a register or face prosecution.
British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday that China’s alleged hacking of British democratic institutions meant there was a “strong case” for including the country in the enhanced tier.
China has denied the spying allegations. The Chinese embassy in London said on Monday the claims said the claims were “completely fabricated” and it will make “a justified and necessary response.”
The British government has previously said it would be inappropriate to call China a “threat” because it is too simplistic to view relations with the world’s second biggest economy through a single word.
Britain summons Chinese charge d’affaires over alleged cyberhacking
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Britain summons Chinese charge d’affaires over alleged cyberhacking
- Britain said the Chinese hackers stole the voter registration data
- A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday the government is close to finalizing a new foreign influence registration system
Spain swine fever spreads outside containment zone
- African swine fever is a viral disease that is harmless to humans but nearly always fatal for pigs and wild boars
BARCELONA: African swine fever has been detected outside a containment zone in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region for the first time since its outbreak in November, officials said on Friday.
African swine fever is a viral disease that is harmless to humans but nearly always fatal for pigs and wild boars.
Although it has not spread to domestic pig farms, the outbreak has disrupted exports from Spain, the world’s third-largest producer of pork and its derivatives.
Thirteen new cases in wild boars have been reported, including two in areas outside the six-kilometer containment zone near Barcelona, Catalonia’s agriculture department said.
Authorities then expanded the high-risk zone to the affected municipalities and restricted access to the surrounding woods to prevent further spread.
The outbreak was Spain’s first reported case since 1994, and more than 100 cases have now been detected in wild boars.
“More than ever, it is essential not to lower our guard against a disease that remains present,” said Oscar Ordeig, regional agriculture minister.
The origin of the outbreak remains unknown, and a judicial investigation is ongoing.
