BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2023) The United States should stop spreading "disinformation" and explain its own cyberattacks, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday, while commenting on reports suggesting Chinese hackers had attempted to crack US official accounts.
Chinese hackers allegedly attempted to infiltrate certain US Department of State email accounts several weeks before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing US officials.
"The US needs to give an explanation for its own cyber attacks as soon as possible, instead of spreading disinformation and deflecting attention," Wang said.
According to The New York Times report, the hackers, allegedly linked to China's military or intelligence services, failed to steal classified information as they were unable to penetrate cryptic e-mail systems.
The report said that representatives of US President Joe Biden's administration refused to say which officials were targeted in the cyberattack. The Department of State discovered the hack on June 16 and notified microsoft the same day, prompting the IT giant to launch an investigation, following which the corporation said that the hack began in May.
On Tuesday, Microsoft said that a China-based actor gained access to email accounts of about 25 organizations, including government agencies. The corporation added that this could be done to collect intelligence data.
In June, Biden prompted an angry backlash from China after he called President Xi Jinping a "dictator" during a fundraiser. Biden's comment came shortly after Blinken traveled to Beijing from June 18-19 on a rare visit that aimed to ease tensions between the two nations.
