Kathrine Frich
China has issued one of its strongest accusations yet against the United States.
They claim American hackers carried out a sophisticated cyberattack on critical national infrastructure.
Beijing’s serious accusation
China’s Ministry of State Security announced on Sunday that it had uncovered “irrefutable evidence” of cyberattacks allegedly conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
The attacks, said to have taken place between 2022 and 2024, targeted the National Time Service Center in Beijing, a facility that synchronizes timing systems for the nation’s finance, transport, and telecommunications networks.
Authorities warned that the intrusion could have caused severe damage, potentially disrupting power grids, train systems, and even space launches.
According to officials, NSA hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging system of an unspecified foreign smartphone brand to steal employee login data.
China’s response
The ministry claimed that it has “broken the chain of attacks, upgraded security protections, and eliminated potential threats.”
It also accused Washington of pursuing “cyber hegemony” and repeatedly violating international cyber norms.
“In recent years, the United States has aggressively sought dominance in cyberspace, becoming the true ‘hacker empire’ and the largest source of chaos in the cyber world,” the statement said.
Beijing urged Chinese citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspected foreign cyber activity to the authorities.
Accusations go both ways
The latest charge comes after years of escalating cyber tensions between China and Western nations.
The US and its allies have repeatedly accused state-backed Chinese hacker groups of conducting cyber espionage campaigns against critics of Beijing, democratic institutions, and sensitive industries.
In 2024, Washington claimed a Chinese state-sponsored actor was behind a breach at the US Treasury Department, an accusation that Beijing dismissed as “groundless.”
Now, both powers find themselves locked in a digital blame game, each portraying the other as the world’s leading cyber aggressor.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation
