China lashes out at US accusation of cyber intrusion

China has voiced outrage at accusations leveled against it by the United States of anti-US cyber activity, saying it is rather Washington that should be stopping cyber attacks on other countries.

"China is a victim of cyber attacks and we firmly oppose all forms of cyber attacks. The US has long carried out indiscriminate and large-scale cyber attacks on countries around the world," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

"Last year, the US Cyber Command openly listed the critical infrastructure of other countries as legitimate targets of US cyber-attacks. This practice is worrying," she added.

The official made the remarks in response to an earlier claim made by the United States that the US government network had come under attack by China-backed hackers.

"Cyber security is a global challenge that requires international cooperation. We believe that the US should not make groundless accusations or smear other countries for political purposes," Mao said.

She advised that Washington rather join in strengthening international cooperation, and "earnestly" safeguard cyber security.

Earlier this year, China depicted the US as the "biggest threat to global cybersecurity," saying Washington "knowingly abuses technology" for spying and a range of other purposes.

The United States was seeking to preserve "hegemony in cyberspace" under the false pretext of "national security," the same Chinese official told reporters back in April, urging the US to "stop its global hacking operations."

A month earlier, US President Joe Biden had issued an executive order, purportedly limiting the use of spyware by the American government. Signing the order, Biden banned the use of commercial spyware like Pegasus and Predator but left ample room for the US to keep using hacking technologies of all sorts.

Downplaying the US move, Ning said at the time that the White House order to crack down on certain surveillance tech did not change the fact that Washington was the "biggest threat" to global cyber security.

MG