Chinese Report on Suspected NSA Hack Shows Beijing Pushing Back
- Chinese cybersecurity firm outlines research on hack from 2013
- Beijing may be rethinking its tactics for dealing with U.S.
For years, Washington has accused Beijing of instigating cyberattacks against the US. and its allies. Now, a Chinese cybersecurity firm says it has identified hacking within China by a group linked to the National Security Agency, hinting at a rethink of how Beijing handles its geopolitical rival.
Chinese officials and companies like Huawei Technologies Co. have often responded to U.S. accusations in the past by declaring America the worst cyber-offender of all, pointing in particular to Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. espionage. But this week, Pangu Lab said it discovered U.S.-sponsored hacking activity on Chinese soil. It said it found malware in domestic IT systems it claims was created by hacking group Equation, which is “generally believed” to be linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.
In a report issued Feb. 23 and covered by the Communist Party-backed Global Times, Pangu Lab said the malware, called Bvp47, had been discovered within “a key Chinese department” in 2013 and 2015. Pangu Lab claimed the malware infiltrated systems to monitor and track key institutions in 45 countries around the world, including U.S. allies, in a campaign that lasted 10 years.
Representatives for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment. On why Pangu Lab was releasing a report this month on a 2013 exploit, a spokesperson said it took a long time to analyze the data.
“In the future, we think there will be more and more similar attribution reports by Chinese cybersecurity firms being leveraged by the Chinese state media to conduct propaganda campaigns,” analysts at TeamT5 wrote.
