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re: Is Putin Sick - With COVID?
Leaked Documents Brandished by Jeremy Corbyn Stolen From Minister's Account by Russian Hackers
Documents were touted by the then Labour leader as evidence of Government plot to sell NHS to the US
By Gordon Rayner, Political Editor, The Telegraph UK, 3 AUG 2020.
Jeremy Corbyn brandished the documents during last year's General Election campaign Credit: AFP
Russian hackers stole classified documents from the email account of a Cabinet minister before they were used by Jeremy Corbyn to attack the Government, it was claimed on Monday.
Former Trade Secretary Liam Fox was the victim of what appears to have been a "state-backed" operation ahead of last year's general election, sources said.
The news triggered a review of Government security as ministers and MPs were reminded of the need to follow rules set out by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ.
If the claims – currently the subject of a police investigation – are proven, it would be the first time a current or former Cabinet minister had been successfully targeted by Russian hackers.
Last month, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, announced that "Russian actors" had sought to interfere in the December election "through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked Government documents".
Mr Raab was referring to stolen details of US-UK trade negotiations which were published online and later used by Mr Corbyn to claim the NHS was being put up for sale.
The Foreign Secretary stopped short of saying who he believed had stolen the documents in the first place and how they were obtained.
According to a report by the Reuters news agency, Russian hackers accessed Dr Fox's account multiple times between July 12 and October 21 last year.
It is unclear which of his email accounts was hacked and when it was first compromised, or whether the successful attempt to access his email happened before or after he lost his role as Trade Secretary in a Cabinet reshuffle last July.
The report comes amid increasing tensions between London and Moscow, which have been building since the 2018 Salisbury poisonings.
Last month a report into Russian interference in democracy by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that Russia had attempted to influence the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.
The Russia Report's 32-Month Journey From inception to Publication
November 23, 2017: Parliament's intelligence and security committee announces its inquiry into Russia following "public and parliamentary concern about Russian activity" including "possible interference in Western political processes".
March 4, 2018: Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the UK's intelligence services, and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned in Salisbury, England with a Russian nerve agent.
October 2018: The nine MPs and peers on the committee start to take oral evidence from the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and other senior UK intelligence figures.
October 17, 2019: The Russia report is delivered to 10 Downing Street by the then-chairman Dominic Grieve for Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, to check that it will not damage national security under the Justice and Security Act 2013.
December 12, 2019: The Conservatives win the General Election.
December 13, 2019: The new Government confirms that there is no material in the Russia report "which would prejudice the discharge of the functions of the agencies", allowing the report to be published when a new committee is set up.
July 14, 2020: The new committee is established. Just two members remain from the committee which drew up the Russian report.
July 15, 2020: Tory MP Julian Lewis is elected as chairman by the committee's nine members, going against the wishes of Number 10, which had backed former Conservative Cabinet minister Chris Grayling.
July 21, 2020: The committee's Russia report is published.
The Government also announced last month that a group of hackers linked to Russian intelligence had tried to steal details of Britain's research into a coronavirus vaccine.
Dr Fox's email account was reportedly hacked using a so-called "spear phishing" message, which tricks the target into handing over their password and login details. Sources said it was not clear whether the hackers who stole the trade documents were the same people who later leaked them online.
Previous reports had suggested one of Dr Fox's advisers was the victim of the hack.
Dr Fox, Britain's nominee for the post of Director General of the World Trade Organisation, was not available for comment on Monday night, but a spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: "There is an ongoing criminal investigation into how the documents were acquired, and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this point.
"But as you would expect, the Government has very robust systems in place to protect the IT systems of officials and staff."
The security of ministerial email accounts is the responsibility of each ministerial department working with the National Cyber Security Centre, which said: "The NCSC works closely with political parties, local authorities and MPs, who are offered access to the best cyber security guidance and support.
"We have worked closely with political parties for several years on how to protect and defend against cyber attacks, including publishing advice on our website."
Downing Street declined to comment on the report or on how the Government would ensure ministers' emails were not compromised in the future.
Sources cited by Reuters declined to name which Russian group or organisation they believed was responsible, but said the attack bore the hallmarks of a state-backed operation.
In the past, Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of election meddling in Britain, France, the United States and other countries. Russia's foreign ministry described the latest British accusations by Mr Raab as "foggy and contradictory".
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