China accuses the US of a cyber operation aimed at its national timekeeping system.

Allegations of Hacking Between US and China Heat Up

China’s intelligence agency has made serious accusations against the US National Security Agency (NSA), claiming it has been hacking into the National Time Service for about a year. This system is crucial for Beijing, as it supports various sectors like telecommunications, finance, and defense.

According to China’s Department of National Security, the NSA supposedly started an operation in 2022. They allege that the NSA exploited a flaw in a text messaging service to gain control over the phones of employees at the National Time Service Center. With this access, they could then use stolen credentials to breach servers and insert covert tools. If these claims are accurate, the consequences could be significant—manipulating national timekeeping could disrupt essential services like communications, banking, and satellite navigation throughout China.

In response, the NSA stated that it does not typically comment on media allegations regarding its operations. They emphasized their primary goal is to counter persistent foreign threats targeting US interests and to protect against adversaries looking to undermine national security.

Chinese officials reported that the hackers deployed 42 specialized cyber attack tools. They also claim the attackers were able to forge digital certificates, bypass security software, and erase any trace of their activities. Altering national time signals could create serious disruptions in the timing of financial transactions, communications, and satellites.

China’s National Security Agency asserted that they countered the attack by disrupting the “attack chain” and boosting their defenses. A government statement from China also accused the US of striving for “cyber supremacy” in recent years and conducting hacking operations against various nations, including China.

On the flip side, U.S. officials argue that China should adopt a more aggressive stance to counter its own cyber espionage, considering the regular intrusions into U.S. systems. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing mentioned that China poses a persistent and significant cyber threat to U.S. governmental, commercial, and critical infrastructure networks.

The current allegations emerge amid ongoing mutual accusations of state-sponsored cyber activities between these leading global powers. The Chinese government frequently rebukes the United States for hacking its systems, while U.S. intelligence and cybersecurity entities highlight large-scale data theft operations attributed to Chinese state-affiliated groups.