China claims it is facing cyber strikes from US to target Russia, Ukraine, Belarus

China claims that it has been subjected to ongoing cyberattacks in which foreign actors have taken control of computers in the country in order to target Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus from February. As per the reports of Xinhua, the majority of the cyberattacks are coming from the United States.

China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center, which is a cybersecurity technical centre that leads efforts to prevent and identify cybersecurity threats stated that China's internet has been subjected to cyberattacks from overseas since late February, claiming that these foreign entities launched cyberattacks on Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus by gaining control of computers in the country. It further stated that according to their investigation, the majority of the addresses used in these attacks originated in the United States. Over ten of the attacks came from New York alone, with a peak traffic intensity of around 36 gigabits per second.

Attacks from Germany, the Netherlands were also recorded

Cyberattack source addresses from Germany, the Netherlands, and other nations were also recorded. Around 87% of China's cyberattacks are directed at Russia, according to Russian news agency TASS. Cyberattacks have been a key source of friction between the US and its allies and China. with the former accusing the latter of waging a global cyberespionage operation. China denies engaging in cyberattacks and has referred to such claims as propaganda.

Fang Xingdong, who is the founder of Beijing-based technology think tank ChinaLabs stated on Friday that using a third country's computers to conduct cyberattacks is not common, according to the Global Times on Friday. He further stated that China has a large number of computers and it could easily fall victim to such attacks. Cyber-attacks might disrupt transportation, energy, finance, and other infrastructure.

Chinese state-sponsored hacker group hacked the computer networks of at least six US state governments

In the meanwhile, research released on Tuesday by American cybersecurity firm Mandiant suggests that a Chinese state-sponsored hacker gang successfully hacked the computer networks of at least six US state governments between May 2021 and February this year, according to CNBC. Mandiant stated that a hacking group APT41 allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in web applications to gain access to state government networks.