Britain's New Security Agency To Counter Chinese Hacking

Uploaded on 2023-03-21 in INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-China, GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW

The British government has announced a new body to help businesses and other organisations to defend themselves against national security threats, notable including Chinese attempts at intellectual property theft.

Now, the UK’s home intelligence agency, MI5, aims to establish a new agency to protect UK businesses from Chinese espionage and state-sponsored hacking.

British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, says the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) will be part of the UK’s diplomatic and Chinese defence strategy.

China poses the biggest “state-based” threat to Britain’s economic security, prime minister Rishi Sunak has said and MI5 spies aim to help firms counter tech threats. The government has removed surveillance equipment linked to the Chinese-state from UK sites and blocked moves by Beijing into UK nuclear and microchip manufacturing sectors.

The new agency can be compared to the National Cyber Security Centre, (NCSC) which was established by GCHQ in 2016 as a central authority protecting the nation against cyber security threats.

The government said state-backed attempts at stealing sensitive research data and information had the potential to undermine UK businesses and harm their competitiveness on the global stage. It also routinely offers guidance to organisations and the wider public on cyber security best practice.

The NPSA will be able to help organisations by providing advice on how to deal with Chinese companies, how to do business in China, or how to buy equipment from companies located in the country. The NPSA said its advice would be provided in an “accessible and informative” way and could be understood and used by a broad range of organisations, from two-person startups to top universities.

The motivation for the agency's creation is thought to be born out of longstanding concerns around China and its history of conducting sophisticated cyber attacks against organisations in the West.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson previously said it was “firmly against some people’s moves to deliberately overstretch the concept of national security to wear down Chinese enterprises” and that Beijing “will firmly defend Chinese businesses’ legitimate and lawful rights and interests”.

China's state-sponsored hackers are long-known for their attacks on high-value organisations and universities, often with the intention of data and information theft.

City AM: The Times: Computer Weekly: The Register: The Record: Telegraph: ITPro:

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