China linked to UK cyber-attacks on voter data, Dowden to say

The UK government is set to link cyber-attacks – in which personal details of millions of voters were accessed – to China.

The attacks on the Electoral Commission took place in August 2021 but were only revealed last year. 

Several MPs who have been critical of Beijing are thought to have also been targeted in the cyber-attacks. 

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden will address Parliament on Monday about the threat.

The BBC has reported that other Western nations will set out similar concerns. 

The Electoral Commission said unspecified “hostile actors” had gained access to copies of the electoral registers and broken into its emails and “control systems”, but added that it had neither had any impact on any elections nor anyone’s registration status.

It’s believed Dowden will suggest those behind the attack had links to Beijing, as well as laying out how the UK will respond to what it deems a wider threat.