China Feigns Shock and Outrage at Cyber Security Report
Chinese authorities are none too happy with a recent report by a U.S. cyber security company highlighting suspicious hacking activities in China. According to the 60-page study released by Mandiant, the Chinese government is sponsoring a massive hacking effort against foreign companies and organizations. The report focused on the activities of just one of what is believed to be many "Advanced Persistent Threat" (APT) hacking groups, providing evidence that it's stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations since 2006. China, naturally, is denying the charge.
"Chinese military forces have never supported any hacking activities," Geng Yangsheng, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement. "The claim by the Mandiant company that the Chinese military engages in Internet espionage has no foundation in fact."
Image Source: icanhascheezburger.com
The report pinpointed a singular location in China -- a 12-story office tower in Shanghai's Pudong district -- as the origin of a large percentage of attacks on American businesses and government agencies. Among the stolen data were confidential business plans, emails of high-ranking employees, user credentials, and more.
Nevertheless, China's stance is that Mandiant's reports has "no factual basis," and furthermore disputes what constitutes hacking in the first place.
"There has been no clear internationally agreed definition for 'cyber attacks,'" Yangsheng added.
Yangsheng also said that "cyberattacks are by nature transnational, anonymous, and deceptive," making it difficult to trace their routes. "It's widely known that using stolen IP addresses to carry out hacking attacks is happening every day," he said.
We reached out to Hamlet's mother for comment, who told HotHardware, "China doth protest too much, methinks."
"Chinese military forces have never supported any hacking activities," Geng Yangsheng, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement. "The claim by the Mandiant company that the Chinese military engages in Internet espionage has no foundation in fact."
Image Source: icanhascheezburger.com
The report pinpointed a singular location in China -- a 12-story office tower in Shanghai's Pudong district -- as the origin of a large percentage of attacks on American businesses and government agencies. Among the stolen data were confidential business plans, emails of high-ranking employees, user credentials, and more.
Nevertheless, China's stance is that Mandiant's reports has "no factual basis," and furthermore disputes what constitutes hacking in the first place.
"There has been no clear internationally agreed definition for 'cyber attacks,'" Yangsheng added.
Yangsheng also said that "cyberattacks are by nature transnational, anonymous, and deceptive," making it difficult to trace their routes. "It's widely known that using stolen IP addresses to carry out hacking attacks is happening every day," he said.
We reached out to Hamlet's mother for comment, who told HotHardware, "China doth protest too much, methinks."
