The US, British and New Zealand governments accused the Chinese state on Monday of being behind several cyberattacks against their political institutions, prompting an angry reaction from Beijing.

In rare and detailed public accusations targeting Beijing, the three governments have denounced a series of cyberattacks in recent years in an apparently concerted move to hold China accountable.

Seven Chinese accused

The US Justice Department announced that it had charged seven Chinese with “Prolific global piracy operation” for fourteen years with the aim of contributing to “Targets of economic espionage and foreign intelligence” from Beijing.

The operation involved sending more than 10,000 emails to companies, politicians, election candidates and journalists based in the United States and abroad, Deputy Justice Minister Lisa Monaco said Monday.

According to Washington, a group called APT31 is behind this. “cyber-espionage program” which was allegedly directed by China's powerful Ministry of State Security from the city of Wuhan.

Hackers gained access to “email accounts, cloud storage accounts (cloud, editor's note) and recordings of telephone calls »the US Department of Justice said.

British Electoral Commission in the spotlight

Shortly afterwards, British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden went to Parliament in London to announce that “actors affiliated with the Chinese state” had committed “Two malicious cyber actions” in 2020 and 2021. He denounced cyberattacks against parliamentarians critical of Beijing and against the United Kingdom Electoral Commission.

“This is the latest in a series of hostile activities by China, including targeting democratic institutions and parliamentarians in the UK and elsewhere.”he said, while London will have to organize legislative elections within a few months.

The attack on the Electoral Commission allowed access to servers containing copies of electoral registers containing the data of 40 million voters, according to British media.

According to Oliver Dowden, these “Attempts to interfere in UK democracy have failed” and will have no impact on the upcoming elections.

But the Chinese ambassador will be summoned, he said, and two individuals and their organization will also be subject to sanctions for their “engagement in malicious cyber activities”in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

Accusations “totally baseless,” says China

They are Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, both members of the APT31 organization, also sanctioned by the United States. In response, the Chinese embassy in Great Britain denounced accusations “totally unfounded” AND “malicious slander”.

In a coordinated statement, Wellington accused a Beijing-linked group of hacking into the computer system of the parliamentary office responsible for drafting and publishing laws in 2021.

New Zealand's cybersecurity agency has linked a group known as“APT40”, “state supported” Chinese and a cyber attack on parliamentary services, Defence Minister Judith Collins said in a statement on Tuesday. The attack was repelled and the group was incapacitated, she said.

An “important step,” according to Wellington

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admitted to reporters that attributing the cyber attack to China was a mistake. “it's not important”which is likely to cool good relations with the country's main trading partner.

Wellington has expressed its protests to the Chinese ambassador in the country, said New Zealand's top diplomat, Winston Peters.

The Chinese embassy in Wellington, for its part, rejected “We categorically consider these accusations to be unfounded and irresponsible”sharing your “strong discontent”.