However, the claims have prompted a furious response from Beijing, with Chinese Communist Party officials claiming to have proof that the US had orchestrated cyber-attacks on China’s infrastructure.
Mao Ning, deputy director of information at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “China firmly opposes and combats any form of cyberattacks in accordance with the law.
“The United States has made a rash conclusion in the absence of effective evidence, and is extremely irresponsible for groundless accusations and smears China, which is purely confusing right and wrong.
“China firmly opposes this. In fact, it is the US Cyber Army Command that openly lists the key infrastructure of other countries as the legitimate target of cyber attacks.”
Mao Ning went on to accuse the US of cyber-attacks on China. She claimed that, since last year, China’s cyber security agencies had released reports “exposing the US government’s long-term cyber attacks on China’s critical infrastructure”.
“This irresponsible policy and practice has put the global critical infrastructure at great risk,” she fumed. “The United States should stop engaging in cyber theft and attacks on a global scale, and stop using cyber security issues to smear other countries,” added Mao.
This weekend, after attending the Munich Security Conference, FBI Director Wray had said: “We’re laser-focused on this as a real threat and we’re working with a lot of partners to try to identify it, anticipate it, and disrupt it.
“I’m sober and clear-minded about what we’re up against . . . We’re always going to have to be kind of on the balls of our feet.
Wray said hackers like Volt Typhoon were the tip of the iceberg – claiming that China was inserting “offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right”, reported the Financial Times.
