China slams ‘groundless’ Dutch hacking claims
Beijing on Wednesday condemned “groundless accusations” after the Netherlands’ government accused Chinese hackers of conducting a spying campaign against Amsterdam.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service said it had discovered malware installed in a computer network being used by its military, blaming a Chinese state actor.
In response, China’s embassy in The Hague insisted that Beijing “always firmly opposes and cracks down on cyberattacks in all forms in accordance with the law.”
“We will not allow any country or individual using Chinese infrastructure to engage in such illegal activities,” the embassy said in a statement on its website.
“China opposes any malicious speculations and groundless accusations,” it added, describing cybersecurity as a “common challenge of all countries.”
Dutch intelligence said the malware had exploited a known vulnerability in systems provided by Fortinet, a cybersecurity firm.
It was found on a network engaged in nonclassified research and development, it added.
The United States has warned that China represents “the broadest, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat” to its government and private sector.
Last month, Washington said it had dismantled a Chinabased hacking network known as “Volt Typhoon,” accusing it of infiltrating critical US infrastructure networks with the goal of disabling them in the event of conflict.
Beijing has dismissed the claims as “groundless,” and pointed to the United States’ own history of cyber espionage.