David Bridges
Key Facts
- Accusation: China has accused the US National Security Agency of conducting cyberattacks between 2023 and 2024.
- Target: The NSA allegedly targeted China’s National Time Service Center, crucial for maintaining national time standards.
- Method: The operation reportedly involved 42 types of cyberattack tools and exploited vulnerabilities in a foreign mobile phone brand.
- Response: The NSA has not yet responded to these allegations, while the US Treasury has reported being targeted by a Chinese actor.
As political tensions between the two global superpowers grow, China’s State Security Ministry accused the US’ National Security Agency of a cyberattack operation that took place between 2023 and 2024. As first reported by Reuters, the Chinese agency posted on WeChat that the NSA targeted the country’s National Time Service Center. As part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the center is tasked with generating, maintaining and transmitting its national standard of time, which is provided to important sectors across the country, including communications, defense and finance.
The state ministry said the operation used around 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to infiltrate the National Time Service Center which could have led to the disruption of network communications, financial systems and power supply. The WeChat post also claimed that the NSA exploited vulnerabilities in a foreign mobile phone brand’s messaging system to steal sensitive info from staff devices, without naming the brand.
The NSA has yet to respond to the accusation. On the other hand, the US Treasury Department said it was targeted by a “China state-sponsored actor” in a December cyberattack.
Daniel Mercer
Brandon Fletcher
