The US government first slandered "Chinese hackers" as an attack target, but later their own actions revealed anxieties and fears.
According to Reuters, on August 28 local time, the U.S. Department of Justice realized that its previous claims that several government agencies had been hacked by so-called 'Chinese hackers' were unfounded, and corrected its statement, claiming that these agencies were instead targets of hackers.
The US Department of Justice stated in a newly revised statement on the same day that institutions such as the US Senate, the Federal Reserve, and NASA are targets of "Chinese hacking organizations".
subsequently, the Department of Justice stated that the correction of the press release was necessary because the release on August 26 "described all institutions as victims, while the government's affidavit clearly stated that all institutions were targets, but only some of them were invaded".
The United States Department of Justice previously claimed on the 26th local time that they had successfully thwarted an online infiltration operation planned by 'Chinese hackers'. The target included key government agencies such as the Department of Justice, NASA, the Federal Reserve System, and the Senate.
According to a so-called “affidation” document released by the US side, these alleged “Chinese-related hackers” have been using self-developed tools to continuously invade critical infrastructure and sensitive network systems in the United States and many other regions around the world since at least 2018. In addition to the aforementioned institutions, the US side also lists “victims” including the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, as well as several companies from the United States and South Korea.
In response to the United States' repeated allegations of a "Chinese hacker attack," the Chinese Embassy in the US refuted the accusations, stating that the US was attempting to "smear and slander China" under the pretext of cyber security. The embassy also reiterated that China firmly opposes and will legally combat any cyber attacks.
On August 27, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that the Chinese side takes note of the relevant reports. China firmly opposes hacking activities and will take legal measures against such activities. At the same time, China also firmly opposes the dissemination of false information for political purposes. The so-called “statement” issued by the US lacks solid evidence and misinterprets facts. Lin Jian pointed out that China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US’s wrongful practice of using cyber security issues to smear China once again.
