China calls allegations of the country’s alleged involvement in cyber attacks “baseless” and “hypocritical”
On Tuesday, China described the allegations of several Western countries and their allies about the Asian country’s alleged link to the global cyber attack against Microsoft, which affected about 250,000 computer systems around the world four months ago, as “baseless.”
According to a statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in Brussels, the allegations contained in the statements of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are not based on facts or evidence, but rather on speculation and baseless accusations.
In turn, the Beijing Embassy in Canberra, Australia, said the local government is “following in the footsteps and repeating American rhetoric like a parrot”, and considers the peripheral country “complicit in listening activities in the context of the ‘Five Eyes Alliance’.”
From the Chinese capital, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, announced that his country will take the necessary measures to defend cyber security, and once again criticized the unjustified accusations against the country by the United States and its allies regarding cyberspace. attacks.
China defines the accused countries as “hypocrites” because they themselves have engaged in large-scale espionage activities and specifically has identified the United States, which it considers the “largest ‘espionage center’ in the world”.
The March cyber attack affected up to 250,000 computer systems worldwide, including the European Banking Authority, the Norwegian Parliament and the Chilean Financial Markets Commission.
In a statement, Washington accused the Chinese Ministry of Public Security of “hiring criminal hackers to carry out cyber operations that are not globally permitted.”
The Biden administration has accused the Chinese government of partnering with criminal gangs to commit large-scale cyber attacks, including an attack on Microsoft this year that affected tens of thousands of organizations. The Biden administration was heavily criticized along with a coalition of allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and NATO. A senior US administration official said China’s Ministry of State Security “is using hackers to conduct unauthorized cyber operations globally, including for personal gain.” Their operations include “criminal activities, such as cyber extortion, cryptocurrency and theft from victims around the world for profit.” The Wall Street Journal wrote that the announcement “is the most significant action the Biden administration has taken to date regarding China’s campaign of cyberattack against the US government and US companies.” A procedure that “often involves routine nation-state espionage and theft of valuable intellectual property such as marine technology and data on coronavirus vaccines.” Also harsh words from NATO, which are contained in a document also related to the story of the Israeli program Pegasus, says: “We are aware of the statements made by allies, such as Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, that take responsibility for the settlement from the Microsoft Exchange servers of the People’s Republic of China. With the recent statement from the Brussels Summit, we call on all countries, including China, to respect their international commitments and obligations and to act responsibly within the international system, including the IT sector.” The North Atlantic Council also reaffirms its willingness to “continue constructive dialogue with China, based on our interests, and on issues important to the Alliance, such as cyber threats and shared challenges.”
This new dispute is added to the dispute in recent days related to foreign interference in Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.