May 25 (Reuters) – The Chinese government has dismissed claims that its spies are breaking into Western infrastructure, calling the joint warning by the United States and its allies a “collective disinformation campaign”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters that warnings from the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were intended to promote their intelligence alliance known as the Five Eyes — and that it was Washington was that guilty of hacking,
“The United States is the empire of hacking,” Mao said.
The response follows a series of warnings from Five Eyes nations – and major US tech company Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) – about the activities of a Chinese hacking group known as Volt Typhoon.
While Chinese spies have long been active online against the United States and its allies, Volt Typhoon has raised particular concerns due to its focus on critical infrastructure, including communications links connecting the United States to the Pacific, analysts say.
The group’s focus on inconspicuousness also attracts attention.
Cybersecurity firm Secureworks, which said it has responded to at least three Volt Typhoon hacks, described the group as working consistently to cover its tracks.
The company also supported Western assessments of the group’s origins, saying the hacker group, nicknamed “Bronze Silhouette,” likely operates on behalf of Beijing.
Secureworks – a branch of Dell Technologies (DELL.N) – said Chinese spies stepped up their game in response to “likely increased pressure from (Chinese) leaders to avoid public scrutiny of their cyber-espionage activities.”
Reporting by Raphael Satter, Editing by William Maclean
