The United States on Monday condemned China for using “contract hackers” to conduct cyberattacks, and said Japan, NATO, the European Union and others are similarly critical of Beijing’s “malicious” activity in cyberspace.
The U.S. government also said that, along with its allies and partners, it has formally attributed an attack exploiting the vulnerabilities of Microsoft Corp.’s Exchange Server email software, which came to light in March, to actors affiliated with China’s Ministry of State Security, an intelligence agency.
“The United States and countries around the world are holding the People’s Republic of China accountable for its pattern of irresponsible, disruptive, and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace, which poses a major threat to our economic and national security,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
An “unprecedented group of allies and partners” are joining the United States in exposing and criticizing China’s malicious cyber activities, a senior U.S. government official told a teleconference, touching on Japan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
It is the first time that NATO has condemned Beijing’s cyber activities, according to the official.
Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States form the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance.
