(NewsGlobal.com)- Chinese state media on Thursday accused the National Security Agency (NSA) of hacking into a government-funded university and gaining access to China’s telecommunications network. This accusation comes three months after US security agencies warned that Chinese-backed hackers had targeted significant telecommunications companies and network service providers for over two years.
The Global Times, citing an unnamed source, accused the NSA of breaking into Northwestern Polytechnical University using phishing, a hacking technique that uses malicious links or other tricks to trick users into providing access credentials, where they allegedly stole files and core technology data, including basic network equipment configuration, network management data, and core operational data.
To “manage the country’s infrastructure,” the paper claims that the NSA compromised Chinese telecom companies.
More information on the attack on Northwestern Polytechnical University will reportedly be made public soon, according to The Global Times, which cited an unknown source.
China has accused the United States of cyberattacks for a while without providing any details. However, as tensions between the two countries in the cybersphere have risen in recent weeks, Beijing has become more outspoken in attributing specific assaults to the U.S.
China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center allegedly identified the attack a few weeks ago and charged the US with “tens of thousands” of cyberattacks against Chinese targets.
In February, FBI Director Christopher Wray asserted that Beijing’s cyberattacks had grown more daring, more devastating, than ever before in their attempts to steal US information and technology. In contrast, the US has accused China of extensive hacking operations.
In June, US security authorities alerted the public that since 2020, Chinese-backed hackers had been targeting “important telecommunications businesses and network service providers.”
They advised individuals affected to take quick corrective action in a cybersecurity advisory on June 7.
The National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the FBI jointly published the advisory, which warned that hackers “continue to exploit publicly known vulnerabilities.”
The authorities said the hackers utilized RouterSploit, RouterScan, and routers with known software flaws.
The agencies identified the CVEs that Chinese hackers have most commonly exploited since 2020, along with the vulnerability categories and major companies Cisco, Citrix, D-Link, Fortinet, and Netgear. Agencies didn’t name victim companies.
Potential victims were advised to apply updates, update their infrastructure, and disable unused ports and protocols.
