Latest news with #JanLipavsky
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Czech FM summons Chinese ambassador over cyberattack
PRAGUE: The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack 'led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor', naming it as China-linked group APT31. 'I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations,' Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted 'one of the unclassified networks' of the ministry. 'The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security,' the ministry added, citing its investigation. 'We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation,' said the ministry. Lipavsky said that 'we detected the attackers during the intrusion'. The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed 'the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side'. 'China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence,' it added. 'Growing pattern' The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. 'The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene,' the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. 'In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory,' Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed 'with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China'. Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to 'behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments'. Taiwan ties Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a 'permanent security threat' for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as 'the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict'.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Czech Republic Summons China Envoy Over Cyberattack
PRAGUE: The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack 'led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor', naming it as China-linked group APT31. 'I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations,' Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted 'one of the unclassified networks' of the ministry. 'The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security,' the ministry added, citing its investigation. 'We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation,' said the ministry. Lipavsky said that 'we detected the attackers during the intrusion'. The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed 'the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side'. 'China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence,' it added. 'Growing pattern' The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. 'The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene,' the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. 'In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory,' Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed 'with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China'. Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to 'behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments'. Taiwan ties Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a 'permanent security threat' for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as 'the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict'.
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Czech Republic accuses China of ‘malicious cyber campaign' against its foreign ministry
Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks to journalists during joint press conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriiy Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo) PRAGUE--The Czech Republic has accused China of being 'responsible' for cyberattacks against a a communication network of its Foreign Ministry, officials said on Wednesday. The Foreign Ministry in Prague said the malicious activities started in 2022 and targeted the country's critical infrastructure, adding it believed the Advanced Persistent Threat 31, or APT31, hacking group, which is associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, was behind the campaign. It was not immediately clear what specific information were seized or what damage was caused by the attacks. The Czech ministry said a new communication system has already been put in place. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in a separate statement that his ministry summoned China's ambassador to Prague to make it clear to Beijing 'that such activities have serious impacts on mutual relations.' 'The government of the Czech Republic strongly condemns this malicious cyber campaign against its critical infrastructure,' the statement said. 'Such behavior undermines the credibility of the People's Republic of China and contradicts its public declarations.' The Chinese Embassy dismissed the Czech accusations as 'groundless.' It said China fights 'all forms of cyber-attacks and does not support, promote or tolerate hacker attacks.' The United States denounced the Chinese activities and called on China to stop it immediately, the U.S. Embassy in Prague said in a statement. It said ATP31 previously targeted U.S. and foreign politicians, foreign policy experts and others. 'APT31 has also stolen trade secrets and intellectual property, and targeted entities in some of America's most vital critical infrastructure sectors, including the Defense Industrial Base, information technology, and energy sectors,' the embassy said. NATO and the European Union also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Czechs. 'We observe with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China,' NATO said. 'This attack is an unacceptable breach of international norms,' Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said. 'The EU will not tolerate hostile cyber actions.' In a separated cyberattack in 2017, the email account of then Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek and the accounts of dozens of ministry officials were successfully hacked. Officials said the attack was sophisticated, and experts believed it was done by a foreign state, which was not named then.
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Czech Authorities Blame Chinese Hacking Group for Foreign Ministry Breach
The Czech Republic said on May 28 that a cyberattack on its foreign ministry's unclassified network was carried out by Chinese state hackers. Czech authorities accused APT31, a hacking group associated with China's Ministry of State Security, of conducting the cyber espionage campaign since 2022, according to a 'China has been persistently trying to undermine our resilience and democracy,' the Czech foreign ministry said in a Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a separate X He mentioned that following the breaches at the ministry, a new communications system with enhanced security measures has been introduced. APT31, or 'Advanced Persistent Threat 31,' is a collection of Chinese state-sponsored intelligence officers, contract hackers, and support staff that 'conduct malicious cyber operations' on behalf of the regime's State Security Department in China's Hubei Province, according to the Related Stories 3/25/2024 3/5/2025 U.S. officials have accused the hacking group of engaging in a 14-year On March 25, 2024, the As part of the coordinated effort, the U.S. Justice Department issued an The hacking group also victimized 'every European Union member' of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an alliance of lawmakers from democratic countries focused on constructing a coordinated response to challenges posed by communist China, the Reaction The intrusions into the Czech infrastructure by Chinese state actors are alarming to the European Union and NATO. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a May 28 Kallas expressed strong condemnation over malicious cyber activities, saying that they go against 'the United Nations framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.' 'We call upon all states, including China, to refrain from such behaviour, to respect international law and to adhere to the UN norms and principles, including those related to critical infrastructure,' Kallas said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also expressed solidarity with the Czech Republic in a separate 'Cyber threat actors persistently seek to destabilise the Alliance,' NATO said. 'We remain committed to expose and counter the substantial, continuous and increasing cyber threat, including to our democratic systems and critical infrastructure.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Czech FM summons Chinese ambassador over cyberattack
The Czech Republic on Wednesday summoned China's ambassador over a cyberattack targeting Prague's foreign ministry as the EU and Washington condemned the attack and NATO warned of a growing threat. The Czech foreign ministry said an extensive investigation of the attack "led to a high degree of certainty about the responsible actor", naming it as China-linked group APT31. "I summoned the Chinese ambassador to make clear that such hostile actions have serious consequences for our bilateral relations," Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on X. The foreign ministry of the Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, said in a statement the attack started in 2022 and targeted "one of the unclassified networks" of the ministry. "The malicious activity... was perpetrated by the cyberespionage actor APT31 that is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security," the ministry added, citing its investigation. "We call on the People's Republic of China to... refrain from such attacks and to take all appropriate measures to address this situation," said the ministry. Lipavsky said that "we detected the attackers during the intrusion". The Chinese embassy in Prague slammed "the unfounded accusations against the Chinese side". "China absolutely rejects the Czech Republic's accusations and smears against China under the pretext of cybersecurity without any evidence," it added. - 'Growing pattern' - The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) singled out China as a threat to security in its 2024 annual report. "The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gaining information about the Czech political scene," the BIS said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the cyberattack in a statement. "In 2021, we urged Chinese authorities to take action against malicious cyber activities undertaken from their territory," Kallas said, adding EU members have nonetheless witnessed attacks from China since then. NATO slammed the attack, saying it observed "with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People's Republic of China". Washington also condemned the attack and called on China to "behave responsibly in cyberspace, adhering to its international commitments". - Taiwan ties - Prague has recently angered Beijing by fostering close ties with Taiwan as high-profile Czech delegations, including the parliament speakers, have visited the island while Taiwanese officials came to Prague several times. China is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island. It sees such visits as an infringement of the one-China policy which Prague officially pursues, just like the rest of the EU. In May 2024, Lipavsky summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks targeting several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. They blamed the attacks on the Russian group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, which has ties to Russia's GRU military intelligence service. The BIS then said that Russia was a "permanent security threat" for the Czech Republic, which provides substantial humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine battling a Russian invasion since 2022. It added the Chinese threat was also growing in the context of the Ukraine war as "the North Korea-China axis keeps cultivating relations with Russia that give it a boost in the current conflict". bur-frj/jza/giv
