Online security lapses led to data of 40m UK voters being hacked, says ICO.

When it comes to online security, one can never be too thorough or, in the case of the UK's watchdog, too little. The Information Commissioner's Office, in fact, recently reported that the Electoral Commission, currently in the spotlight thanks to last month's election, had not updated its security measures to protect the data on its servers prior to the hacker attack dating back to August 2021 (and identified in October 2022).

The deputy commissioner of the ICO also stated that if the correct and up-to-date protection measures had been taken, such as a security patch and more careful password management, it is highly likely that this data breach would not have happened. Fortunately, so far, there has been no evidence of data misuse or direct damage.

Following the mentioned breach, the nation's conservative government pointed the finger at China, summoning Beijing's ambassador to explain his country's alleged actions. The United States and New Zealand followed suit, raising concerns about China's involvement in recent cyber attacks.