The hacker group APT31, which according to the United States and Britain has close ties to China, also attacked a parliamentary group, whose member was the current foreign minister Jan Lipavský, years ago. This was reported by the Brussels server Politico. The targets of the attacks were the e-mail addresses of members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China (IPAC) from the EU and Britain.
According to an indictment released this week by the US Department of Justice, the group, which Washington says has close ties to China’s Ministry of State Security, in 2021 it made a cyber attack on IPAC members from the EU and Britain. Among them was the then deputy Lipavský. Between 2017 and 2021, he was vice-chairman of the foreign affairs committee and the defense committee of the Chamber of Deputies and also a member of its subcommittee for defense, cyber and security policy and strategic concepts of the Czech Republic.
Lipavský told the Politico server that the information about the attack by the APT31 group on the representatives of the inter-parliamentary alliance confirms the views that according to which China’s growing assertiveness presents a systemic challenge.
The United States and Britain this week imposed sanctions on people and companies linked to cyberattacks backed by the Chinese government. London credits the APT31 group with attacks on the email accounts of British MPs critical of China’s actions. The US Department of Defense has blamed the group for cyber attacks on US companies, government officials and lawmakers.
IPAC brings together legislators from several dozen countries. The group looks at how democratic countries approach China. He usually takes strongly critical positions on Beijing’s policy and overly accommodating attitudes towards China.
