The European Union has expressed its support for the Czech Republic after China was implicated in a “malicious cyber campaign” targeting the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The European Union and its Member States, along with international partners, stand united with Czechia regarding the malicious cyber campaign directed at its Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” stated EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
In recent years, EU member states have increasingly faced cyberattacks from China, and the European Union emphasized that China needs to take more action to prevent these incidents.
Ms. Kallas condemned these assaults, declaring them contrary to the internationally accepted norms governing state behavior in cyberspace.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas indicates readiness for further action if needed.
“States should not permit their territory to be exploited for malicious cyber activities.”
Ms. Kallas stated that the EU is prepared to implement further measures as necessary to prevent, deter, or respond to harmful activities in cyberspace.
Chinese ambassador summoned to the Czech Republic.
Following the cyberattack targeting Prague’s foreign ministry, Czech officials reported that the Chinese ambassador had been summoned.
The Czech foreign ministry revealed that an extensive investigation into the attack “resulted in a high level of certainty regarding the responsible actor,” identifying it as the China-linked group APT31.
“I summoned the Chinese ambassador to clarify that such hostile actions have serious repercussions for our bilateral relations,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky announced on social media platform X.
The foreign ministry noted in a statement that the attack began in 2022 and affected “one of the unclassified networks” of the ministry.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky calls on China to desist from such attacks.
“The malicious activity… was carried out by the cyber espionage group APT31, which is publicly associated with the (Chinese) Ministry of State Security,” the ministry added, referencing its investigation.
“We urge the People’s Republic of China to… refrain from such attacks and to take all necessary actions to remedy this situation,” the ministry stated.
Mr. Lipavsky mentioned that “we detected the attackers during the intrusion.”
The Czech Security Information Office (BIS) identified China as a security threat in its 2024 annual report.
“The Chinese embassy logically focuses on gathering information about the Czech political landscape,” the BIS remarked.
