Accusing China of spying on U.S. infrastructure a U.S.-initiated 'disinformation campaign': Chinese FM

It is obviously a collective disinformation campaign launched by the U.S. through the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to serve its geopolitical agenda, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday as some Western countries and Microsoft alleged on Wednesday that a Chinese hacking group is "spying on a wide range of U.S. critical infrastructure organizations."

According to Reuters, Western intelligence agencies and Microsoft said on Wednesday that a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group is alleged to have been "spying on a wide range of U.S. critical infrastructure organizations, from telecommunications to transportation hubs."

Microsoft claimed in its report that the espionage has also targeted the U.S. island territory of Guam, home to strategically important American military bases, adding that "mitigating this attack could be challenging."

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a Thursday press briefing that this is an extremely unprofessional report - a patchwork with a broken chain of evidence. "We also noted that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the cybersecurity agencies of the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, almost simultaneously issued similar reports. Apparently, this has been a collective disinformation campaign launched by the U.S. through the Five Eyes to serve its geopolitical agenda," Mao said.

It's widely known that the Five Eyes is the world's biggest intelligence association and the NSA the world's biggest hacking group. It is ironic that the Five Eyes jointly released a report filled with disinformation, Mao noted. The involvement of certain company in the report indicates that the U.S. is using additional channels to spread disinformation other than through government agencies. This is not the first time - and certainly not the last time - for them to do so. Whatever their subterfuge, it will not change the fact that the U.S. is the champion of hacking.

In September 2022, relevant Chinese institutions released a report detailing the actions of NSA's attacks on China's Northwestern Polytechnical University. The U.S. should explain immediately about its cyber attacks and should not spread disinformation and detract attention from what it had done, Mao added.