UK and allies issue cyber warning over China-backed malicious network

18 September 2024, 16:54

A hand on a laptop keyboard
State Opening of Parliament. Picture: PA

The National Cyber Security Centre has urged firms to protect themselves from a China-backed ‘botnet’ of thousands of compromised devices.

The UK’s cybersecurity agency has urged firms to protect their devices from a China-backed “botnet” of compromised devices which it warned could be used for malicious purposes.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, issued the warning alongside its Five Eyes counterparts in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It says a company based in China, with links to the Chinese government, has created and manages a botnet of more than 260,000 compromised devices around the world.

Botnets are large networks of internet-connected devices which have been infected by malware and, as a result, can be controlled by a group and used to carry out cyber attacks, without the owners’ knowledge.

Most commonly they are used to carry out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which flood websites or networks with traffic in the hope of knocking them offline – but they can also be used to anonymously deliver malware.

The compromised devices can include routers and other internet-connected devices, such as webcams and CCTV cameras.

In an advisory published on the issue, the cybersecurity agencies urge firms to check the security of their devices to ensure they are adequate, noting that botnets such as this pose a particular threat to owners of equipment which is older or not up to date with security patches.

Paul Chichester, NCSC director of operations, said: “Botnet operations represent a significant threat to the UK by exploiting vulnerabilities in everyday internet-connected devices with the potential to carry out large-scale cyber attacks.

“Whilst the majority of botnets are used to conduct co-ordinated DDoS attacks, we know that some also have the ability to steal sensitive information.

“That’s why the NCSC, along with our partners in Five Eyes countries, is strongly encouraging organisations and individuals to act on the guidance set out in this advisory, which includes applying updates to internet-connected devices, to help prevent their devices from joining a botnet.”

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

Morning drone (002)

Drone project reaches ‘important milestone’ with final trial flights

Prime Minister hosts Chanukah reception

AI tech giants should not be subsidised by British creatives, Starmer signals

Dr Craig Wright arrives at the Rolls Building in London for the trial earlier this year (Lucy North/PA)

Computer scientist behind false Bitcoin founder claim sentenced for contempt

Google has been contacted for comment (PA)

ICO criticises Google over ‘irresponsible’ advertising tracking change

Some 22% of consumers have increased their use of second-hand shopping apps in the past three months (Depop/PA)

Millions of Britons earning average £146 a month on second-hand platforms

ChatGPT being used via WhatsApp

ChatGPT joins WhatsApp to allow anyone to access the AI chatbot

A Facebook home page on a laptop screen

Meta fined more than 250 million euro by Irish data commission following breach

Finger poised above WhatsApp app on smartphone

Ending use of WhatsApp is ‘clear admission’ Government was wrong, claim Tories

Phone with WhatsApp on the screen

Scottish Government to cease use of WhatsApp by spring, says Forbes

Open AI

OpenAI rolls out ChatGPT search engine tool to all users

Most people happy to share health data to develop artificial intelligence

Government launches consultation on copyrighted material being used to train AI

Debbie Weinstein

Google names UK executive as president for Europe, Middle East and Africa

The Apple App store app on an iPad (PA)

Shopping and Roblox named among most popular Apple App Store downloads of 2024

A young child lies on a couch while playing on a smartphone

Q&A: Ofcom, the Online Safety Act, and codes of practice for social media

A girl using a mobile phone

Ofcom’s new online harms rules for social media firms disappoint campaigners

A man in a hoodie in front of several computer monitors

Peers urge ministers to step-up efforts to criminalise deepfake abuse