CHINA: Foreign Ministry says it is dissatisfied with a report by U.S. paper The New York Times which quotes a U.S. cyber security firm as saying Chinese military hacked U.S. defence contractors for drone technology

Record ID: 184896

  • Title: CHINA: Foreign Ministry says it is dissatisfied with a report by U.S. paper The New York Times which quotes a U.S. cyber security firm as saying Chinese military hacked U.S. defence contractors for drone technology
  • Date: 24th September 2013
  • Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (FILE - FEBRUARY 2013) (REUTERS) BUILDING OF UNIT 61398 OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY (PLA) IDENTIFIED BY U.S. COMPUTER SECURITY COMPANY MANDIANT AS THE ORIGIN OF A SERIES OF HACKING ATTACKS STAR OF CHINESE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY ON MAIN BUILDING AT UNIT 61398 COMPOUND EXTERIOR OF BUILDING WINDOWS MAN IN MILITARY UNIFORM WALKING BUILDING OF
  • Embargoed: 9th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8TM5AXTCIWNITTX6U91CFSUDC
  • Story Text: China on Tuesday (September 24) expressed dissatisfaction with a U.S. media report that quoted a cyber security firm as saying that the Chinese military hacked U.S. defence contractors for drone technology.
    The report published by the New York Times on Friday (September 20) quotes the California-based company, FireEye, as saying that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) hacked over 20 defence contractors in the pursuit of information to build its own drones.
    FireEye's manager of threat intelligence said the campaign was the largest the company had seen focused on drone technology, the report said.
    China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said China was aware of the Times' report.

    "China's economic development and technical progress have come from the Chinese people's hard work, China's long-term investment in scientific research and increases in its ability to innovate in scientific research. China and the U.S. have already set up a internet working group, and our relevant communication is smooth. We express dissatisfaction with the relevant report. This kind of report is not beneficial to China and the U.S. developing their cooperation on cyber security," he told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
    The report said cyber security experts said the address and tools linked to a command-and-control node were associated with a group called "Comment Crew."
    This is the same group that another U.S. cyber security firm, Mandiant, claimed in a February report was part of the PLA's Shanghai-based Unit 61398 was responsible for hacking attacks on U.S. companies.
    Reuters could not independently verify that the Unit was responsible for the attacks.
    China has denied hacking and says it is one of the biggest victims of international cyber crime.
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