GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler said that the “irresponsible actions” of Chinese state-backed hackers are making the internet less secure for the world. And she said there were “growing links” between Putin’s intelligence services and proxy groups conducting “cyber attacks, as well as suspected physical surveillance and sabotage operations”.

The spy master said that while “immediate threats” were posed by Russia and Iran, responding to the “coercive and destabilising actions” of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was her “top priority”. In a speech at the Cyber UK conference in Birmingham, Keast-Butler said the scale of the challenge from Beijing meant GCHQ devotes “more resource to China than any other single mission”.

“Through their coercive and destabilising actions, the PRC poses a significant risk to international norms and values,” said Keast-Butler. “In cyberspace, we believe that the PRC’s irresponsible actions weaken the security of the internet for all.

“China has built an advanced set of cyber capabilities, and is taking advantage of a growing commercial ecosystem of hacking outfits and data brokers at its disposal.

“China poses a genuine and increasing cyber risk to the UK. Through their coercive and destabilising actions, the PRC poses a significant risk to international norms and values. In cyberspace, we believe that the PRC’s irresponsible actions weaken the security of the internet for all.”