China is suspected of a massive cyber attack on the database of British armed forces personnel

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A massive Chinese cyberattack reportedly targeted the UK Ministry of Defense and exposed the data of armed forces personnel.

The attack, believed to have been carried out two or three times, affected a third-party payroll system that contained the data of tens of thousands of British military personnel and veterans.

The Ministry of Defense has been working over the past three days to understand the extent of the hack after it was recently discovered, Sky News reported. The Ministry of Defense has been contacted for comment.

No data is believed to have been collected and the Defense Department urged service members not to worry about their safety. Deputies will be informed of the attack on Tuesday.

This comes after Chinese “state-affiliated actors” were blamed by the government for two “malicious” cyberattack campaigns in the UK between 2021 and 2022.

In March, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons that two people and a company linked to the Chinese state had been sanctioned over attacks on the Electoral Commission.

The same company also conducted “reconnaissance activities” against British Parliament accounts as part of a separate campaign in 2021, Mr. Dowden said.

Mr Dowden told MPs that the UK was imposing sanctions on two people and a company linked to the cyber group APT31, which is linked to China’s Ministry of State Security.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said at the time: “China’s so-called cyber attacks against the UK are completely fabricated and malicious slanders.”

On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping began a trip to Europe, although he was not scheduled to visit Britain. He spent the day in Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron.

Upon his arrival, a group of seven French lawmakers who were targeted by cyberattacks by Chinese hackers called for a judicial investigation by authorities.

They want France to officially attribute the attack to APT31 – the same company sanctioned by Britain in March.

Unlike the United States, Britain and New Zealand, which have officially blamed China for several cyberattacks, French authorities have shied away from blaming Beijing.

Mr Xi will visit Serbia on Wednesday and Hungary on Thursday – both countries that have friendly relations with the Chinese state.