U.S. Allies Issue Rare Warning on Chinese Hacking Group

Seven U.S. allies warned that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group poses a threat to their networks, in an unusual coordinated move by Western governments to call out a global hacking operation they say is directed by Beijing’s intelligence services.

Tuesday’s advisory was a rare instance of Washington’s major allies in the Pacific and elsewhere joining to sound the alarm on China’s cyber activity. Australia led and published the advisory. It was joined by the U.S., U.K., Canada and New Zealand, which along with Australia are part of an intelligence-sharing group of countries known as the Five Eyes. Germany, Japan and South Korea also signed on.

The warning marked the first time South Korea and Japan joined with Australia in attributing malicious cyber activity to China. It was also the first time that Australia—which has been reluctant to point the finger at China, its largest trading partner—led such an effort, according to a person familiar with the matter.