As political tensions between the two global superpowers rise, China’s Ministry of State Security accused the US National Security Agency of a cyberattack operation that took place between 2023 and 2024. As first reported ReutersThe Chinese agency posted on WeChat that the NSA targeted the country’s National Time Service Center. As part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the center is tasked with generating, maintaining and transmitting its national time standard, which is provided to important sectors across the country, including communications, defense and finance.
The State Ministry said the operation used about 42 types of “special cyber attack weapons” to infiltrate the National Time Service Center, which could have led to disruption of network communications, financial systems and power supply. The WeChat post also claimed that the NSA exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging system of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information from staff devices, without naming the brand.
The NSA has not yet responded to the allegation. Separately, the US Treasury Department said it was targeted by a “Chinese state-sponsored actor” in a cyberattack in December.
