Chinese Cyber Agency Rejects U.S. Hacking Claims in New Report

(Bloomberg) -- China’s cybersecurity agency again rejected claims by the US and Microsoft Corp. from earlier this year that Chinese hackers were behind a high-profile attack on critical American computer networks known as Volt Typhoon. 

Calling the claims a “political farce” orchestrated by Washington, China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center said in a report released Monday that more than 50 cybersecurity experts from around the world agreed that there was insufficient evidence to link Volt Typhoon to Beijing.

Volt Typhoon was identified by Microsoft in 2023, and the US government joined allies this year to warn that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group had been embedded into US industrial networks for at least five years. Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations, and Monday’s report from the country’s cyber defense agency was the third on Volt Typhoon this year.

In its latest report, it said US intelligence agencies had long deployed “cyber warfare forces” for reconnaissance and network penetration. A tool called Marble can help remove links to developers and insert strings in languages like Chinese and Russian to mislead investigators and to frame China and others, according to the report.

Microsoft representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment. The US State Department also didn’t reply to Bloomberg News’ queries.

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Chinese government officials have long refuted allegations of hacking and often accused the US of its own cyber-efforts, without providing evidence.

But a prominent Chinese cybersecurity firm has gone public in recent years with claims about what it calls American attacks. It said in 2022 that the U.S. was behind a campaign targeting computers in 45 countries and regions, including China. Meanwhile, the Ministry of State Security has outlined a growing array of sensitive data it says foreign forces are pilfering.