London:
China has gained capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities, a report claimed on Sunday.
Intelligence chiefs have told the government that equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT's new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies.
According to a report in <I>The Sunday Times</I>, the warnings coincide with growing cyberwarfare attacks on Britain by foreign governments, particularly Russia and China.
While BT has taken steps to reduce the risk of attacks by hackers or organised crime, the government believed that the mitigating measures are not effective against deliberate attack by china.
According to the report, Alex Allan, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), briefed members of the ministerial committee on national security about the threat
from China at a top-secret official meeting in January.
Home Secretary Ms Jacqui Smith chaired the meeting.
A media report on Sunday said vast cyber spy network controlled from China has infiltrated government and private computers in 103 countries, including those of Indian embassy in Washington and the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
Canadian researchers, the <I> New York Times</i> reported, have concluded that the computers based almost exclusively in China are controlling the network and stealing documents, but stopped short of saying that the Chinese government was involved.