China steps up defence on hacking allegations

Beijing:  Chinese state media stepped up the war of words on Thursday over allegations of sophisticated cyber-attacks on US firms, branding the accusations a "commercial stunt" and accusing Washington of ulterior motives.

American Internet security firm Mandiant earlier this week said that a Chinese military cyber spy unit is targeting US and other foreign firms and organisations with hacking attacks.

But an editorial in the state-run China Daily said: "One cannot help but ask the real purpose of such a hullabaloo."

"With the US economic recovery dragging its feet, it is reasonable to think that some in Washington may want to make China a scapegoat so that public attention is diverted away from the country's economic woes," it added.

The newspaper quoted defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng as saying the People's Liberation Army had itself been the target of a "significant number" of cyber-attacks.


In its report, Mandiant alleged the hacking group "APT1" -- from the initials "Advanced Persistent Threat" -- was part of the Chinese military's Unit 61398 and had stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations across 20 industries.




It said the US had a "matchless superiority and ability to stage cyber-attacks across the globe", and that the US military had "established a significant cyber force, including the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade, which is a regular military unit tasked with carrying out cyber missions".


"Facts will eventually prove that the cyber-attacks accusations are groundless and will only tarnish the image and reputation of the company making them, as well as that of the United States," it said.

The commentary came after the US government Wednesday vowed to aggressively combat a rise in the foreign theft of trade secrets.


Story First Published: February 21, 2013 10:55 IST

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