Spies today fit in a pocket. The mobile phone has become the great infiltrating agent. According to information from the British newspaper ‘The … Telegraph’, hackers who supposedly worked for the Government of China gained access to the conversations and private messages of advisors very close to three British prime ministers, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, between 2021 and 2024. The United Kingdom secret services do not know if the ‘hackers’ intercepted the mobile phones of the three top leaders, but they are clear that the “breach affected the heart of Downing Street.”
In September 2025, the newspaper ‘The New York Times’ revealed a cyberattack campaign by a Chinese group called ‘Salt Typhoon‘. Linked to several technology companies in that country and related to Beijing’s intelligence agencies. Its objective was to obtain data and track the communications and movements of those responsible in other countries. Also in its sights were transportation, military and telecommunications infrastructures. Among his victims, the newspaper cited Donald Trump, president of the United States, and his number two, JD Vance. And also Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate who lost the elections in 2024.
American Intelligence informed London. MI5, the British secret service, issued a “spy alert” in November. He feared that the hackers had obtained data on the agenda of senior officials, their contacts, their location and the frequency with which they communicated with certain people. Data is digital gold. The great powers, and China is one, aspire to have global influence through telecommunications and social networks. According to Anne Neuberger, who was US National Security Advisor, the hackers were able to “record phone calls at will.” What if these conversations, in addition to revealing information, can be used for blackmail?
Controversial Chinese mega embassy in London
According to the US secret services, groups of Chinese hackers had access to telecommunications companies around the world. The information they obtained is unknown, although it is known that their activity in the United Kingdom was especially intense during Rishi Sunak’s mandate (2022-2024).
The information now being disseminated by ‘The Telegraph’ coincides with the controversy over the approval of a Chinese mega-embassy in London, right in the heart of the City and above the communication cables through which a spring of economic and financial data flows. The Labor Government of Keir Starmer has given its approval to this project and opposition representatives such as Alicia Kearns have charged against it: «The Labor party is rewarding hostile acts against our country. How much more evidence does this Government need to stop being so naive with Xi (Jinping, president of China)? Starmer, in the midst of this controversy, travels this week to the Asian giant to strengthen diplomatic and commercial relations.
Western agencies insist that Chinese hackers are highly skilled and aggressive, one step ahead. Beijing defends itself and assures that all these accusations are “unfounded” and that it is another “victim” of cyber attacks. John le Carré, who wrote so much about spies and the Cold War, said that espionage only has one moral law: it is justified by the results. Their agents hid under their raincoat and hat; today they travel in their pockets.
