China Condemns US 'Cyber-Theft' at Defense University
China has strongly condemned alleged cyber-attacks on Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, accusing the US's National Security Agency (NSA) and its Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO) of the intrusions. The university specializes in aeronautical, astronautical, and marine engineering research, working closely with the US's defense industry.
The Chinese government has demanded an explanation and a halt to these 'unlawful moves'. According to the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (VERC), the NSA's TAO used over 40 specific cyberattack weapons and exploited more than 1,100 attack links to steal over 140GB of data from the university, including tens of thousands of 'malicious network attacks' earlier this year.
The US acknowledges its grey zone cyber-activity for national security reasons, but China accuses the US of industrial espionage and intellectual property theft. The US government has designated the university on its Entity List since 2001, citing national security concerns. The TAO conducted extensive preparation for the attack, including building anonymized attack infrastructure and using two zero-day vulnerability exploiting tools for the SunOS operating system.
The US and China have long-standing friction over cyber-attacks, with each country accusing the other of malicious activities. China has called for an explanation and an end to these alleged attacks, while the US maintains its stance on grey zone cyber-activity for national security purposes.
