In China, Anger At U.S. Hacking Charges — And Claims Of Hypocrisy
Chinese officials say that charges against military staff for hacking into U.S. computers are an example of hypocrisy, citing U.S. surveillance and wiretapping. The foreign ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to complain about the charges Monday.
"From 'WikiLeaks' to the 'Snowden' case, U.S. hypocrisy and double standards regarding the issue of cyber-security have long been abundantly clear," the defense ministry said on its website, according to Agence France-Presse.
The U.S. said Monday that it has filed criminal charges against five officials from Unit 61398, a division of the country's army that has previously been tied to hacking operations. The Justice Department issued FBI "Wanted" posters with names and photos of the men, in a move widely seen as a bold attempt to embarrass the Chinese. The U.S. says the men hacked into computer systems of U.S. companies to steal trade secrets.
From Shanghai, NPR's Frank Langfitt reports:
"China's government has angrily denied it backed commercial espionage against the U.S., and said attacks out of America in the last couple of months had seized control of more than a million computers here. "
"Revelations by Edward Snowden about National Security Agency spying have made it harder for the U.S. to press its case.
"In March, leaked documents showed the NSA had hacked Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant. One goal was to find any links between Huawei and China's People's Liberation Army.
"The U.S. insists it does not share intelligence gathered in such operations with American firms. But most Chinese don't believe that."