China hits back at ‘fabricated’ US hacking allegations

China’s government has denied being responsible for cyberattacks against Western nations after the United States and its close allies accused it of a global cyberespionage campaign.

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Chinese diplomats said the evidence surrounding China’s virtual wrongdoing was incomplete, while calling the US’s allegations ‘hypocritical’ saying that the US was the main source of hacks globally [File: Kacper Pempel/Reuters]

The group of nations alleged on Monday that Beijing has been the mastermind behind a series of malicious ransomware, data theft and cyberespionage attacks against public and private entities, including a sprawling hack in March on Microsoft Exchange, a top email server for corporations around the world.

Separately, the US Department of Justice said four Chinese nationals had been charged with hacking the computers of dozens of companies, universities and government bodies in the US and abroad between 2011 and 2018.

China hit back on Tuesday, calling the allegations of a Beijing-supported cyberattack campaign “fabricated” and demanded Washington drop the charges against the four Chinese nationals.

“The United States ganged up with its allies to make unwarranted accusations against Chinese cybersecurity,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. “This was made up out of thin air and confused right and wrong. It is purely a smear and suppression with political motives.”

“China will never accept this,” Zhao said, though he gave no indication of possible retaliation.

Citing what he said was Chinese cybersecurity research, Zhao accused the US. Central Intelligence Agency of carrying out hacking attacks on China’s aerospace research facilities, oil industry, internet companies and government agencies over an 11-year period.

Those attacks “severely compromised” national and economic security, Zhao said.

“China once again strongly demands that the United States and its allies stop cyber theft and attacks against China, stop throwing mud at China on cybersecurity issues and withdraw the so-called prosecution,” he said. “China will take necessary measures to firmly…