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Lindy Cameron, director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC),
part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said Britain
had a "legitimate concern" about the effects Chinese technology
may have on cybersecurity.
"China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it
is aiming for global technological supremacy," Cameron told an
annual government cybersecurity conference in Belfast.
"Bluntly, we cannot afford not to keep pace with China.
Otherwise, we risk China becoming the predominant power in
cyberspace."
China is also using its cyber capabilities to acquire
intellectual property, achieve its strategic geopolitical goals,
and conduct global spying campaigns, Cameron added.
Last month, Britain banned the use of TikTok on government
phones, following other Western countries in barring the
Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.
TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user
data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could
end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining
Western security interests.
The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission
have also banned the app from official devices.
China has characterised the bans as politically motivated.
Beijing routinely denies any involvement in hacking and says it
punishes those who do.
(Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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