Why is the UK not blaming China for the MoD hack?

The personal details of members of the UK’s armed forces appear to have been the latest target of China’s prolific cyber spies, with the Ministry of Defence’s payroll system containing the names, bank details and some addresses of up to 272,000 people on its books targeted by hackers. The government though is directing its fury at the hapless MoD contractor whose systems were breached, rather than the suspected perpetrators in Beijing.

Defence secretary Grant Shapps said the attack was carried out in recent days and was ‘the suspected work of a malign actor’. He would not name the actor, though in multiple background briefings China was identified as prime suspect – a ‘fabricated and malicious slander’, according to the Chinese embassy in London. Speaking in the House of Commons Tuesday, Shapps said, ‘We think the private contractor has many questions to answer,’ pledging ‘the strongest action’ in the case of negligence.