China rejects US, UK ‘disinformation’ on cyberattacks

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Pushing back accusations of “state-sponsored” cyberattacks by the US and the UK, China on Tuesday said it was itself the victim of such actions, offering collaboration to deal with cybersecurity challenges.

China “firmly opposes and combats all kinds of cyberattacks, and is committed to working with all countries … to strengthen cooperation and jointly deal with the threats of cybersecurity through channels such as bilateral dialogue or judicial assistance,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference in Beijing.

Beijing’s statement came as Washington on Monday charged seven Chinese nationals who were accused of carrying out a "sinister" state-sponsored hacking campaign that targeted US and foreign critics of China, businesses, and political officials.

The accused persons are allegedly part of the Advanced Persistent Threat 31 hacker group (APT31 Group).

The UK government also on Monday accused China of launching cyberattacks on the Electoral Commission and parliamentarians between 2021 and 2022 and said it was “almost certain that the China state-affiliated Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT31) conducted reconnaissance activity against UK parliamentarians during a separate campaign in 2021.”

But Lin said Beijing “made technical clarifications and responses to the so-called ‘APT31’-related information submitted by the British side, and made it clear that the evidence provided by the British side was inadequate and relevant conclusions lack professionalism,” according to a transcript of the news conference released by the ministry.

“Unfortunately, there has been no further response from the British side,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Early Tuesday, New Zealand said it had conveyed to Beijing its “concerns” regarding an alleged breach of its parliament by a Chinese “state-sponsored” group.

The alleged breach happened in 2021 and the group responsible for the breach was “PRC state-sponsored APT40,” according to Wellington.

- US-driven agenda to ‘spread disinformation’

Lin accused Washington of “encouraging” the world’s largest intelligence network, the Five Eyes Alliance, “to compile and spread all kinds of disinformation about the threats posed by the so-called Chinese hackers.”

“Now along with the UK, the US is hyping up the so-called ‘Chinese cyberattacks’ and even launching groundless unilateral sanctions against China,” said the ministry spokesman, adding Beijing had made “strong demarches” to the US and relevant parties.

New Zealand, the UK, and the US are members of the alliance, besides Australia and Canada.

China will “take necessary measures to safeguard our lawful rights and interests,” said Lin.

He said Chinese cybersecurity institutions had “released a series of reports on the US government’s cyberattacks on China and other countries.”

“Yet the US government has been silent about them. We urge the US to adopt a responsible approach in cyberspace and stop framing the innocent,” said Lin.