China Blames US for ‘Advanced’ Cyberattacks, Names NSA Agents

• Chinese authorities accuse the NSA of sophisticated cyberattacks.
• State media identify three alleged NSA agents linked to the incident.
• Reportedly, the attacks targeted critical infrastructure, including Huawei.

BEIJING: In Harbin, a city in northeastern China, local authorities have charged the US National Security Agency (NSA) with conducting sophisticated cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February, aiming at vital industries.

The police placed three suspects, alleged NSA operatives, on a wanted list and suggested that the University of California and Virginia Tech might also be implicated in the attacks, based on findings released by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.

The individuals named by Xinhua are Katheryn A Wilson, Robert J Snelling, and Stephen W Johnson. The report claims they have been responsible for persistent cyberattacks against China’s critical information infrastructure, including Huawei and other businesses.

However, the specifics of how the two American universities were involved were not disclosed.

The US Embassy in China did not respond to an inquiry for comment sent via email.

The accusations come amid escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which are increasingly embroiled in a trade dispute that has already prompted travel warnings for Chinese tourists to the US and led to a halt on imports of US films into China.

Xinhua reported that the NSA allegedly targeted key sectors in Heilongjiang province, including energy, transportation, water management, communications, and national defense research institutions. The primary goal of these attacks was said to be undermining China’s critical information infrastructure, leading to societal disruptions and facilitating the theft of important confidential data.

Unmasked Operations

The report claims that these NSA operations coincided with the Winter Games and involved the activation of specific pre-installed backdoors in Microsoft Windows systems on certain devices in Heilongjiang.

To obfuscate their actions, the NSA purportedly purchased IP addresses from various countries and rented multiple network servers anonymously across Europe and Asia, Xinhua stated.

The NSA was aiming to compromise personal data belonging to the athletes participating in the games, with the cyberattacks reportedly peaking following the first ice hockey match on February 3.

Specific information systems, including the Asian Winter Games registration system, were targeted, storing sensitive details about individuals associated with the event, according to Xinhua.

While the US frequently accuses Chinese state-sponsored hackers of attacking its critical infrastructure and government systems, Washington recently announced charges against several alleged Chinese hackers linked to breaches involving the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the US Department of Commerce, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia.

Beijing, however, denies any involvement in foreign cyber espionage.

After facing years of allegations from Western nations regarding cyberattacks and industrial espionage, several Chinese organizations and government entities have started to accuse the United States and its allies of similar actions over the last two years.

In December, China claimed to have detected and addressed two cyberattacks from the US targeting Chinese technology firms with the intention of stealing trade secrets since May 2023, though the specific agency involved was not named.