The Czech Republic: China is behind cyber attack at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This article was last updated on May 28, 2025

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The Czech Republic: China is behind cyber attack at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Czech Republic holds a Chinese group of hackers responsible for a cyber attack at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the Czechs, it is a “malignant cyber campaign”, aimed at a network used for non-secret communication.

The country states that the APT31 group linked to China is probably behind this. According to the Czech Republic, that group is concerned with cyberspionage. The Chinese ambassador is called upon by the Czech Republic to condemn the incident.

The ministry reports that the hack activities started in 2022 and focused on the critical infrastructure. It is not clear what information has been captured or what damage the cyber attack has caused. However, the ministry now uses a new communication system with better security, says Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs.

‘Respect international law’

NATO and the European Union say they are behind the Czech Republic. “We strongly condemn the malignant cyber activities that are intended to undermine our national security, democratic institutions and critical infrastructure,” NATO writes in a statement.

EU BuitenlandChef Kaja Kallas lashed out at a press conference to China. “This attack is an unacceptable violation of international standards,” said Kallas. “The EU does not tolerate hostile cyber actions. We are solidarity with the Czech Republic.”

On behalf of the EU, Kallas calls on all states, including China, to remember such behavior and to respect international law. “States should not allow their territory to be used for malignant cyber activities.”

APT28

Yesterday it turned out that a Russian Cyber ​​Group that has been unknown so far is responsible for Hacks at, among others, the police, in September last year. AIVD and MIVD call that group Laundry Bear. The working method of this group is similar to that of another Russian hackers group, with the name APT28.

According to the MIVD, APT28 is controlled by a unit of the Russian military intelligence service.

APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat and is a general abbreviation for a form of cyber attacks in which advanced hacking techniques are used to gain access to a system and also retain it for a longer period. This way sensitive data can be collected and stolen.