The Czech Republic summoned the Chinese ambassador today after a hacker attack on government websites, and the EU, US and NATO condemned Beijing's actions, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"China must realize the serious consequences that such actions have on bilateral relations," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
The Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement today that the attack on "one of the non-classified networks" began in 2022, requiring a full investigation by the NATO member country's counterintelligence services.
According to Lipavsky, the hackers were "detected during the intrusion", and Prague has concluded that "the activity was carried out by (the hacking group) ART31, which is publicly associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security".
The Czech Republic called on China to "take all appropriate measures to resolve this situation".
Beijing, through its embassy, rejected these "unfounded" accusations and "slanderous allegations made by the Czech Republic" and called for "a change in its methods".
"We call on the Czech Republic to end its "media diplomacy" and to adopt a responsible attitude by addressing cybersecurity issues objectively and fairly," the embassy statement said.
The Czech counterintelligence service has already named China as a threat in its 2024 annual report, in which it said the Chinese embassy was collecting "information about the local political scene".
In May 2024, the Czech Foreign Ministry also summoned the Russian ambassador over repeated cyberattacks against several European countries, including Poland.
Prague, which coordinates military aid to Ukraine from 18 allied countries, including Canada, attributed the cyberattacks to the Russian group ART28, linked to the Russian intelligence service GRU.
In a statement today, the EU's High Representative for Security and Foreign Affairs Kaia Kalas "strongly condemned the malicious computer activities" and called on China to "refrain from such behavior." "The EU stands ready to take further measures to respond," she added, expressing the bloc's solidarity with the Czech Republic. NATO said in a statement that it was watching "with growing concern the exponential pattern" of such actions that "destabilize the alliance." Washington also condemned the cyberattack, urging Beijing to "immediately cease such actions" and "behave responsibly."