Chinese hackers had access to UK government mobile communications for several years

June 26, 2020. Then-Prime Minister of Great Britain Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley — WPA Pool / Getty Images

Chinese hackers, linked to China's state security services, had access to the mobile phones of high-ranking UK government officials for at least three years. As reported by The Telegraph, the target of the attack, dubbed "Salt Typhoon," was staff at the Prime Minister's residence on Downing Street, including the closest aides to three heads of government – Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.

It remains unknown whether the Prime Ministers' own phones were directly compromised, but sources familiar with the investigation claim that the breach penetrated the very heart of Downing Street.

As the publication notes, the breach of British government communications is just one episode in a large-scale espionage operation by Beijing that has encompassed a number of states. Among the main targets of this global campaign were all member countries of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance: besides the UK, these are the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Although the first breaches date back to 2021, intelligence agencies only discovered them in 2024, when the US revealed a large-scale penetration of telecommunications companies worldwide.

Through access to communications infrastructure, China could obtain data from millions of users. Former US Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger confirmed that the hackers had the technical capability to "record phone calls at will."

Such a level of access theoretically allowed Beijing to intercept text messages or, at a minimum, collect valuable metadata: to see with whom and how often officials communicate, and to track their approximate location via geolocation.

It remains not entirely clear what specific information the perpetrators obtained from the phones of Downing Street staff.

Sources within Western intelligence agencies acknowledge that the level of protection for British networks was higher than in the US, partly thanks to the Telecommunications Security Act 2021. However, high-ranking American officials consider "Salt Typhoon" to be one of the most successful intelligence operations in history.

According to expert estimates, China is purposefully gathering political information about British MPs and decision-making processes. Western intelligence agencies characterize Beijing as one of the most aggressive and technologically advanced players in the field of cyber and electronic intelligence.

As the publication notes, unlike the US, where authorities openly admitted that Chinese hackers monitored even presidential candidates, the British government had until recently acted more cautiously, only mentioning "clusters of activity" in its networks. Nevertheless, the scale of the problem forced MI5 to issue a special warning to Parliament about the threat of Chinese espionage.

In turn, the Embassy of the PRC in London called the claims of the breach "baseless" and urged not to politicize cybersecurity issues.

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