The UK Cabinet Office has firmly refuted allegations made by Dominic Cummings, former senior aide to ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, regarding a purported cyber breach by China into high-level government systems. In an interview with The Times, Cummings asserted that China had accessed ‘vast amounts’ of ‘extremely secret’ information from UK intelligence services and Whitehall departments. He claimed the breach occurred in 2020 and was subsequently concealed. Cummings specifically mentioned the compromise of ‘Strap’ material, a classification for highly sensitive intelligence data, which he said included information from the National Security Secretariat and other critical government sources.
In response, a Cabinet Office spokesperson dismissed the claims as ‘untrue,’ stating that the systems used for transferring sensitive government information remain secure. Cummings further alleged that the breach was discussed in a high-level meeting, where officials expressed disbelief at the severity of the situation. He called for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, offering to provide detailed testimony.
However, Professor Ciaran Martin, former chief executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), challenged Cummings’ assertions. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, Martin stated that, to his knowledge, no such breach occurred. He emphasized that the systems in question are uniquely secure and operate differently from standard internet-based platforms. Martin acknowledged China as a persistent cyber threat but maintained there was no evidence of a breach in 2020.
The controversy has sparked debate over the credibility of Cummings’ claims and the UK’s cybersecurity resilience. While the Cabinet Office and cybersecurity experts have dismissed the allegations, the incident underscores ongoing concerns about foreign cyber espionage and the protection of sensitive government data.