https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45747983

Apple and Amazon are among US companies and agencies who have had data stolen by Chinese spies, claims Bloomberg.

The data had been siphoned off via tiny chips inserted on server circuit boards made by a company called Super Micro Computer, reported the news agency.

The servers had been compromised during manufacturing and the chips activated once they were up and running, it said.

Apple, Amazon and Super Micro have rejected Bloomberg's claims, calling them "untrue".

In particular, Apple released a strong statement in response to Bloomberg's article saying it had found "no evidence" to support the allegations.

Bloomberg said a year-long investigation by reporters Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley had uncovered evidence of the wide-ranging attack, which gave Beijing access to 30 large companies and many federal agencies.

t said the first information about the spying campaign had emerged during security testing carried out by Amazon in 2015 before it had started using servers from US company Elemental, which had been manufactured by Super Micro Computer at plants in China.

And this discovery then kicked off a long-running "top-secret probe" by US intelligence agencies, which found compromised servers:

in Department of Defense data centres

onboard warships

handling data gathered by CIA drones

China was well placed to carry out this kind of attack, said Bloomberg, because 90% of the world's PCs are made in the country.

Carrying out the attack involved "developing a deep understanding of a product's design, manipulating components at the factory, and ensuring that the doctored devices made it through the global logistics chain to the desired location", it said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45744822

Russian cyber intelligence officers tried to hack the UK's Foreign Office, a British diplomat has said.

Peter Wilson, the UK ambassador in The Hague, said Russian intelligence officers tried to compromise Foreign Office systems with an attack in March.

The accusation comes after Dutch security services said they expelled four Russians over a cyber plot against the global chemical weapons watchdog.

Moscow said the allegations were "not backed by any proof".

Elsewhere, the US has charged seven Russians with hacking anti-doping agencies and other organisations.

The allegations are part of an organised push-back against alleged Russian cyber attacks around the world.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the UK was discussing further sanctions against Russia with its allies.

He said Russia's "fake news" was in contrast to "the hard evidence of Russian military activity" provided by the joint operations between the Dutch and British governments.

Meanwhile, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has written to Mr Hunt calling for an inquiry into alleged Russian interference in UK elections - in particular the EU referendum.

In his letter he accused the government of "ignoring glaring concerns" and said there had been no response to a parliamentary committee that had asked whether the intelligence services were investigating.