BEIJING: China on Sunday accused the US National Security Agency (NSA) of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time center, saying any damage to related facilities could have disrupted network communications, financial systems, and power supply.
The Ministry of State Security alleged that the US agency had exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information from devices of the National Time Service Center's staff in 2022.
‘Special cyberattack weapons’
It did not specify the brand.
The US agency also used 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to target the center's multiple internal network systems and attempted to infiltrate a key timing system between 2023 and 2024, it said in a post on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform.
The ministry said it had evidence but did not provide it in the post.
What is the time center?
It said the time center is responsible for generating and distributing China’s standard time, in addition to providing timing services to industries such as communications, finance, power, transport, and defense.
The ministry added that it had provided guidance to the center to eliminate the risks.
“The US is accusing others of what it does itself, repeatedly hyping up claims about Chinese cyber threats,” the post said.
Western governments in recent years have alleged hackers linked to the Chinese government have targeted officials, journalists, corporations, and others.
Ongoing tensions
The ministry's statement could fuel tensions between Washington and Beijing, on top of trade, technology, and other issues.
The US Embassy did not address the Chinese allegation in an emailed response.
The response focused on China's cyberattacks, calling them the most active and persistent threat to the US government and companies.
