China says sites targeted by U.S.-based hackers

CBS/AP

BEIJING China's military said Thursday that overseas computer hackers targeted two of its websites an average of 144,000 times per month last year, with almost two-thirds of the attacks originating in the United States.

The claim from Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng follows accusations last week by American cybersecurity company Mandiant that Chinese military-backed cyberspies infiltrated overseas networks and stole massive amounts of data from U.S. companies and other entities. China denied the allegations, and its military said it has never supported any hacking activity.

Geng told reporters at a monthly news conference that an average of 62.9 percent of the attacks on the Defense Ministry's official website and that of its newspaper, the People's Liberation Army Daily, came from the U.S.

"Like other countries, China faces a serious threat from hacking and is one of the primary victims of hacking in the world," Geng said. "Numbers of attacks have been on the rise in recent years."

• Chinese government's cyberattack denials appear weak
• China military unit behind many hacking attacks on U.S., cybersecurity firm says
• Accused China cyberspies: English savvy, Twitter hackers
• Chinese cyberattacks prompt U.S. to beef up Pentagon security, weigh action against Beijing

Geng attacked the Mandiant report, which blamed hacking on the People's Liberation Army's Shanghai-based Unit 61398, as "unprofessional and not in accordance with the facts." He also criticized the U.S. military's cyber command for impeding international efforts at controlling hacking.

The Mandiant report was widely praised by cybersecurity professionals interviewed by The Associated Press, who said it provided the most detailed picture yet of China's state-sponsored hacking efforts.

[tellnolies]

Not quite the same ring to it as Chinese government hacking us corporations now does it.

Just watching the video of the evidence will take you from script kid to elite just like that.

[Paroquet]

@SNOOPKK:

This is for your benefit. Criticizing opinions without any substance relevant to the article is juvenile. Making blanket statements about an individual's opinion regarding the article which is made available for discourse is unnecessary.

Comment upon the article. Your opinion is valued. Commenting upon comments is rather unseemly.

Make your comments relevant to the article. Please?

[Paroquet]

No relation to article presented for discussion.

[Paroquet]

To China: Don't start nothing, won't be nothing. Don't provide a reason for a people to retaliate, and retaliation won't occur.

People of China (who can see this) have you so quickly forgotten the teachings of Sunzi Bingfah (aka. Sun Tzu)? For those oppressors watching, you know we Americans haven't.

Again I say "Don't start a fire, and you won't have a fire to worry about controlling.

Show your colors, and hoist them proud. Dare to declare yourself an enemy rather than a respected adversary.

In other words "San Chin Piin". (You belong in the Crazyhouse)

We hit, you hit back. You hit, we hit back. Difference? You are oppressed & suppressed. We are neither. We are as you were, you are as you shall.

Capice?