Trade minister: 'not clear' if China was behind cyber-attack on Foreign Office

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was hacked in October, a minister has said.

- Jamie Grierson Dan Milmo

Chris Bryant, a trade minister, told Sky News there was a low risk to "any individual" from the cyber-attack.

Details of the hack emerged yesterday in a report by the Sun claiming a Chinese hacking group was behind it.

But Bryant told broadcasters it was "not clear" who had perpetrated the attack and cautioned against speculation. "There certainly has been a hack at the FCDO and we've been aware of that since October," Bryant told Sky News.

The Sun named Storm 1849 as the Chinese group responsible for the breach, which it said could include tens of thousands of visa details.

The group has been "accused of targeting groups critical of the Chinese government", the newspaper said.