The United Kingdom has sanctioned two Chinese enterprises, claiming that these two companies launched cyber attacks on the UK and its allies. The Chinese Embassy in the UK responded by saying that 'the UK and the US are colluding,' deliberately slandering China and imposing illegal unilateral sanctions. China has lodged stern representations.
According to a statement released on the website of the Chinese Embassy in the UK on the 10th, a spokesperson for the embassy, in response to a reporter’s question regarding the UK’s sanctions on Chinese enterprises, stated: 'The UK and the US are colluding, deliberately slandering China and imposing illegal unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities—this is extremely egregious. The Chinese side resolutely opposes this and has lodged stern representations with the UK.'
The spokesperson went on to say that China has consistently cracked down on all forms of malicious cyber activities in accordance with the law. 'At the same time, we firmly oppose the politicization of cyber security issues and oppose baseless accusations against other countries without any factual basis.' China urges the UK to immediately correct its erroneous actions, revoke the sanctions on Chinese companies, and stop slandering and smearing China. China will take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
According to a statement published on the British government’s website on Tuesday, the two companies subject to the UK’s latest sanctions are Sichuan Anxun Information Technology Co., Ltd. and i-SOON Technology Group. The UK side stated that these two tech companies were sanctioned for reckless and indiscriminate cyber attacks.
The statement also noted that Sichuan Anxun attacked IT systems of over 80 governments and private enterprises worldwide, and supported other companies planning to conduct malicious cyber activities; i-SOON Technology was accused of controlling and managing a covert network and providing technical support to others in carrying out cyber attacks, with targets including IT systems of the UK public sector.
The statement said these two companies are typical examples of the Chinese cyber industry posing a threat. This industry also includes information security companies, data brokers (who collect and sell personal data), and 'hacker-for-hire' entities. Some of these companies provide cyber services to Chinese intelligence agencies. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assesses that it is almost certain that this 'ecosystem' involving private sector participants supports cyber operations linked to the Chinese government.