US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced today that hackers collaborating with the Chinese Ministry of State Security carried out the massive electronic espionage operation that targeted thousands of computers belonging to US government institutions earlier this year, taking advantage of a vulnerability in Microsoft systems.

Minister Blinken said in a statement that the US Department of Justice has indicted three Chinese Ministry of State Security officers and one of its contract hackers, adding that Washington will "take action against those involved in malicious cyber activities for their irresponsible behavior in cyberspace."

At the beginning of a new phase of tension with China, America joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, Britain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Canada to accuse Beijing of a major cyber attack discovered last March, according to a document published by the White House this morning.

contract pirates

And the French Press Agency quoted a senior US official as saying that the Chinese Ministry of State Security "is using criminal hackers with whom it contracts to launch unauthorized online operations globally, including for their own interests."

The same official explained that these operations include "criminal activities such as online extortion, crypto-grabbing and theft of victims around the world for financial gain," and the official said, "We have seen reports that cyber operators affiliated with the Government of the People's Republic of China targeted private companies with operations, It included millions of dollars in ransom demands.


A senior US official said US federal agencies, including the National Security Council, the FBI and the National Security Agency, would clarify more than 50 methods and procedures used by "Chinese state-sponsored agents" to target US networks.

European declaration

And the US Bloomberg Agency quoted the European Union’s foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell, as saying that the cyber attacks that originated from China penetrated the Microsoft Exchange server, affecting thousands of computers and networks around the world, and the European official added that these malicious cyber activities It had "significant effects targeting governmental institutions and political organizations in the Union, member states, as well as major European industries".

Reuters reported that the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the US accusation.

Chinese officials have previously said that their country is also a victim of hacking, and that it opposes all forms of cyber attacks.

In a related context, the US Department of Justice also announced today the indictment of four Chinese in a global hacking campaign targeting dozens of companies, universities and government agencies in the United States and abroad, between 2011 and 2018.

The cyber attack was aimed at obtaining information that would greatly benefit Chinese companies.