The Czech Republic has accused the Chinese government of attempting to hack the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ network. The attack, which has been ongoing since 2022, was linked to the APT31 group, a Chinese unit previously identified as Judgment Panda. Prague summoned the Chinese ambassador and declared a serious breach of bilateral relations.
According to an official statement from the Czech Foreign Ministry, the hack targeted an unclassified network that is part of critical infrastructure. All three of the country’s intelligence agencies, as well as NÚKIB (National Cybersecurity Agency), have unequivocally identified APT31 as the perpetrator of the attack. The goal is espionage, manipulation, destabilization.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky stressed that the attack had a political motive: “China has long been working to weaken our democracy through cyberattacks, propaganda and information manipulation.” He also announced the introduction of a new secure communications channel for the foreign policy service.
APT31 is a group linked to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, previously sanctioned by the US and the UK for attacks on government targets and infrastructure. According to British intelligence, APT31 also conducted online reconnaissance on British MPs who were critical of Beijing.
The head of NÚKIB, Lukasz Kintr, added that the Czech Republic has already shared intelligence with partners in the EU, NATO and the Indo-Pacific region through its own network of cyber attachés. The Czech Republic has already received support from the EU and NATO.
This is the second official case in which the Czech Republic has publicly accused a foreign state of cyber espionage. In 2024, Prague and Berlin jointly exposed attacks by Russian hackers on state institutions, also summoning the Russian ambassador.
APT31 is a notorious hacking group operating on behalf of Chinese intelligence and targeting government systems, infrastructure, and parliamentarians in democratic countries.
