China hacked the mobile phones of senior Downing Street officials for several years, compromising them by exposing their private communications to Beijing, it has been reported.
State-sponsored hackers targeted the phones of aides to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak between 2021 and 2024, according to The Telegraph.
While it isn’t known whether the phones of the prime ministers themselves were hacked, a well-placed source told the newspaper that the breach went “right into the heart of Downing Street”.
The attack raises the possibility that spies could have read text messages, listened to calls, or gained access to phone metadata.
US intelligence sources have indicated that the Chinese espionage operation Salt Typhoon remains ongoing - and so Keir Starmer and his senior staff may have been exposed as well.
MI5 issued an alert to Parliament in November about the Chinese spy threat, but critics say that Labour have jeopardised national security by taking a soft line in the hope of securing trade deals with China’s large economy.
The prime minister will visit China this week in a bid to secure trade and investment ties with Beijing, while the government has approved plans for a Chinese mega-embassy in London.
Alicia Kearns, a shadow minister for national security, said: “How much more evidence does this Government need before it ends its simpering to Xi and stands tall as the great country we are and defends us? Labour is rewarding hostile acts against our state.”
It is unclear precisely what information Chinese hackers obtained from the phones of Downing Street staff.
Anne Neuberger, a deputy US national security adviser, told The Telegraph that the global breach was part of “one of maybe the more successful campaigns in the history of espionage,” with the hackers able to “record phone calls at will”.
However, intelligence sources suggest that Britain’s telecommunications networks were better protected than those in the US, citing the 2021 Telecommunications Security Act, which introduced new legal duties on telecoms firms to strengthen the security of UK networks.
The Government has only ever referenced Salt Typhon by alluding to a “cluster of activity” in the UK, while US officials have been very vocal, admitting that Chinese hackers targeted Donald Trump, JD Vance and Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
However, The Telegraph has reported that there were many different attacks on the phones of Downing Street staff, particularly while Rishi Sunak was prime minister between 2022 to 2024.
Peter Kyle, who was technology secretary during that period, said that he “became very, very aware that there was a cybersecurity challenge that our country faced that I simply wasn’t aware of before becoming secretary of state”.
Dakota Cary, from the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, a US think tank focused on China’s threat, said: “Salt Typhoon has focused on telecommunications firms and the back-end of those networks so that they can pick up communications between individuals.
“We know that China has been interested in getting political intelligence on MPs and decision-making in British politics,” he added.
Intelligence agencies have described Beijing as among the most aggressive foes in cyber warfare, with former Israeli intelligence chief Yuval Wollman calling Salt Typhoon “one of the most prominent names” in cyber-espionage.
Mr Wollman, president of cybersecurity platform CyberProof, told The Telegraph: “While much of the public reporting has focused on US targets, Salt Typhoon’s operations have extended into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where it has targeted telecoms firms, government entities and technology companies.”
China’s foreign ministry has dismissed the claims as “baseless” and “lacking evidence”.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson said: “China is a staunch defender of cyber security and one of the major victims of cyber espionage and attacks.
“We have been resolute in combating all kinds of malign cyber activities in accordance with the law, and never encourage, support or condone cyberattacks.
“We firmly oppose the practice of politicising cybersecurity issues or accusing other countries without evidence.”
The government declined to comment to the Telegraph.
