China accused the U.S. on Monday with waging "tens of thousands" of cyberattacks and stealing vast amounts of private information, including that from a public research university.
One of the topics over which relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years is the accusation Beijing has made by Washington of cyberattacks against U.S. companies and government institutions. China has regularly refuted the accusations and retaliated against suspected US cyber espionage, although it has rarely disclosed particular attacks to the public.
However, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was charged in a report issued on Monday by its National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) with conducting "tens of thousands of malicious attacks on network targets in China in recent years".
It pinpointed the Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO) of the NSA with breaking into the Xi'an-based Northwestern Polytechnical University. The university, which specializes in aerospace and space research, is supported by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Infiltrating the university's networks and seizing "control of tens of thousands of network devices" including servers, routers, and network switches, according to CVERC.
In recent years, TAO has "stolen over 140 GB of high-value data" according to the CVERC report, which was co-authored by the private Chinese cybersecurity company Qihoo 360. TAO has also reportedly received assistance from organizations in Europe and South Asia.
The team was able to access "core technical data," which included passwords and information on how important network equipment functioned, using dozens of cyber weapons and previously undiscovered weaknesses in the SunOS operating system, according to the study.
Beijing's foreign ministry denounced the suspected breach on Monday, saying it "seriously endangers China's national security and users' personal data security".
At a routine press conference, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said, "We ask the U.S. to provide an explanation and urge them to stop immediately this illegal move."
Authorities in Xi'an said in June that they were looking into a cyberattack at Northwestern Polytechnical University that was allegedly the work of "overseas hacking groups and unlawful elements."
A university cybersecurity official told state broadcaster CCTV in comments that were made public on Monday that the hacks "caused significant risks and hidden dangers for normal work and life at our school."
The U.S. said last year China was behind the attack on Microsoft's email system that had an impact on at least 30,000 US organizations, including local governments, as well as consumers in other nations.
The East Asian country has denied all allegations.
