ALBAWABA - The British Ministry of Defence reportedly confirmed a data breach that targeted part of its database, payroll information including names, bank details, and some addresses of serving personnel, reservists, and veterans.
Around 2,000 people are thought to have been affected, although the number of addresses that have been compromised is understood to be far fewer, The Telegraph reported.
The cyber attack is likely to have targeted a payroll system managed by an external contractor, not managed by the Ministry of Defence. The system, which is the primary method for handling pay and expenses for defence service personnel, is separate from the MoD's overall infrastructure. It was quickly taken offline once the attack was detected.
It is unclear whether the contractor is in charge of any other aspects of the MoD's infrastructure or whether the company was particularly targeted due to a known vulnerability in their systems.
The attack, which is believed to have occurred in recent days, would not have had access to any personal information of special forces members because they are administered through a separate system.
Some reports accused hackers from China were behind the attack, yet no official reports confirmed the allegations. An official investigation has been launched into the matter to get to the root cause of how such sensitive information could have been accessed.
The UK has witnessed a series of major cyber attacks in recent years, with the most recent one being when the United Kingdom and the United States accused China of a global campaign of "malicious" cyber strikes in an unprecedented combined effort to expose Beijing's spying.
Britain explicitly blamed China for attacking the Electoral Commission watchdog and running an internet "reconnaissance" effort against MPs and peers' email accounts.
China rejects responsibility for the attack
When asked about a report by Sky News that China had hacked into the UK Ministry of Defense in a cyberattack targeting service personnel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian answered that such reports are "pure nonsense".
"China has always resolutely opposed and fought against all forms of cyberattacks, and resolutely refuses to use cybersecurity issues to smear other countries" Lin stated.
