According to a report, just before the Russian invasion, China launched cyberattacks on Ukrainian military and nuclear targets.
The UK government confirmed that the National Cyber Security Center is investigating allegations that more than 600 websites, including Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, have been subjected to thousands of hacking attempts coordinated by the Chinese government.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The National Cyber Security Center is investigating these allegations with our international partners.”
The claims are based on intelligence memos obtained by the Times. Ukraine’s security service SBU claims that China was apparently informed of the invasion in advance because the hacking attempts began before the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics and peaked on February 23, a day before Russia invaded its neighbor.
The SBU said other targets of the attacks were border guards and the National Bank. The attempts were aimed at stealing data and exploring ways to disrupt or shut down defense and civilian infrastructure, the SBU added.
Although Russia is believed to have been behind a series of cyberattacks on Ukraine in the run-up to the conflict, the SBU said it had also uncovered hacks that bear the signature of the People’s Liberation Army’s cyberwarfare unit. The SBU said it has seen an increase in computer network exploitation (CNE) attacks used for reconnaissance and espionage.
The Times said the SBU provided a series of intelligence memos believed to have been prepared by another country detailing the extent of the hacking and containing nuclear targets.
“Among the intrusions of particular concern are the CNE campaigns targeting the state’s nuclear regulatory agency and Ukraine’s investigative website, which focuses on hazardous waste,” the memo said. “This particular CNE attack by the Chinese cyber program involved launching thousands of exploits with attempts pointing to at least 20 different vulnerabilities.”
On March 18, US President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of “consequences” if China provided material support to Russia during the invasion.
Xi and Vladimir Putin met in Beijing at the start of the Winter Olympics in February and issued a joint statement saying the ties between the two countries are “without borders”. Xi and Putin also made it clear in the statement that they oppose any further expansion of NATO. Soon thereafter, according to the SBU, there was an increase in CNE attacks on Ukrainian targets.