US raises alarm on Chinese cyberattacks in case of Taiwan war
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NSA chief believes China will launch cyberattacks on the US in a preemptive move in case of conflict in the South China Sea.
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Visitors stand in front of an electronic data display showing a map of China at the Global Mobile Internet conference in Beijing, China, on April 26, 2018 (AP)
The United States is concerned about Chinese cyberattacks on the US and its allies in the vent of a conflict in the Chinese island of Taiwan, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Being a main ally of the Taiwanese government by providing the island with security promises and politically mobilizing against the Chinese government in mainland China, the US has made itself a main actor in case armed conflict occurs in the South China Sea.
The report cited US Cyber Command and National Security Agency (NSA) chief General Timothy Haugh who revealed that China is attempting to access critical infrastructure networks in an effort to enhance its capabilities in possible future attacks.
Haugh reportedly said that the US is particularly worried about the potential targeting of water systems.
Chinese cyberattacks against the US are increasing in frequency and sophistication, Haugh said. The official revealed that the exact number of security breaches is unclear because authorities do not notice every hack.
Read more: China reasserts it 'firmly opposes' US military presence in Taiwan
China denies US allegations
On the other hand, Beijing has categorically denied American allegations about Chinese-launched cyberattacks on the US.
US Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu rebuffed the accusations made by the US at an earlier time that Chinese-backed hackers had breached the email account of US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
Liu stated that China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and theft. The top Chinese diplomat also emphasized that identifying the source of cyber attacks in the virtual world is complex, given the difficulty of tracing online actors.
"China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms. This position is consistent and clear," he said.
Read more: Chinese Embassy rejects US claims of China-linked hackers access
China accuses NSA of conducting its own cyberattacks
Moreover, the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi, China, announced that foreign hackers were caught sending phishing emails with Trojan horse programs (malware that misleads users) to teachers and students at the university, in an attempt to steal their data and personal information. The source of the malware was traced back to the NSA.
The day after, a police statement released by the Beilin Public Security Bureau in Xi’an stated that the attack's intent was to lure teachers and students into clicking links of phishing emails, tricking them with themes involving scientific evaluation, thesis defense, and information on foreign travel, in order to obtain their email login credentials.
China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, and internet security company 360, formed a joint technical team to conduct a comprehensive technical analysis of the case and investigate the attack.
After collecting multiple trojan samples from internet terminals of Northwestern Polytechnical University, with the support of European and South Asian partners, the team initially diagnosed that the cyberattack was conducted by the Tailored Access Operations (TAO) (Code S32) under the Data Reconnaissance Bureau (Code S3) of the Information Department (Code S) of the US’ NSA.
Read more: NSA behind major cyberattack on Chinese university
