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China Says Hacking Allegations Lack Proof

China has responded to a report tying the Chinese military to hack attacks on U.S. companies by saying the report lacks “technical proof.” They also claim to be the victim of many attacks originating in the U.S. The Christian Science Monitor’s Arthur Bright reported, “China’s government says that an extensive report on an alleged ongoing […]

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Cynthia Harvey

Feb 20, 2013

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China has responded to a report tying the Chinese military to hack attacks on U.S. companies by saying the report lacks “technical proof.” They also claim to be the victim of many attacks originating in the U.S.

The Christian Science Monitor’s Arthur Bright reported, “China’s government says that an extensive report on an alleged ongoing cyberespionage campaign by Chinese military hackers – which included a broad array of business targets – ‘lacks technical proof’ of state involvement.”

Reuters quoted the Chinese Defense Ministry, which stated, “The report, in only relying on linking IP address to reach a conclusion the hacking attacks originated from China, lacks technical proof. Everyone knows that the use of usurped IP addresses to carry out hacking attacks happens on an almost daily basis. Second, there is still no internationally clear, unified definition of what consists of a ‘hacking attack’. There is no legal evidence behind the report subjectively inducing that the everyday gathering of online (information) is online spying.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Carlos Tejada and Aaron Back noted, “[Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei] said China has been a frequent victim of cyberattacks, and he added that the U.S. has been the top source of such attacks. China has suffered virus attacks, and Chinese personal computers have come under control by foreign Internet addresses, he said. When asked if China believed that the U.S. government is behind the attacks, Mr. Hong said ‘we can only say they originated in the U.S.,’ which he said was ‘entirely different from media reports that the Chinese government or the Chinese military are responsible’ for the attacks detailed in the U.S. computer security firm’s report.”

David Barboza with The New York Times added, “Geng Yansheng, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that China had been the victim of cyberattacks that have originated in the United States, and that Mandiant mischaracterized China’s activities. ‘Chinese military forces have never supported any hacking activities,’ Mr. Geng said at the briefing. ‘The claim by the Mandiant company that the Chinese military engages in Internet espionage has no foundation in fact.'”