[Epoch Times, September 11, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting comprehensive report) The CCP released a report this week, accusingNational Security Agency(NSA) to ChinaNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityConduct cyberattacks and steal data to attract attention. Some cybersecurity experts called the CCP’s move ridiculous; others urged independent verification of the report’s analysis.
“Washington Post” cybersecurity expert Tim Starks (Tim Starks) wrote on September 9 that this is the latest in a series of recent accusations by the CCP against the United States regarding cyberattacks. Previous allegations date back to February. The allegations have puzzled many cybersecurity experts. They are unsure of what the CCP wants to achieve, and they scoff at the shoddy and often outdated nature of Chinese research results.Furthermore, forNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversitySuch targets are what most countries see as “fair game” for intergovernmental espionage.
Northwestern Polytechnical University is directly under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Communist Party of China and specializes in aviation and aerospace research.
Experts urge independent investigation of China’s analysis listed in report
The Washington Post article said that in some cases, the CCP used public media reports for so-called “disclosures.” State media reinforce the government’s message, but there are some odd expressions. For example, the English-language version of the Chinese Communist Party’s official Global Times newspaper reported that it had “learned from a source” thatNational Security AgencyRob Joyce of the hacking division used to lead the operations of the Specific Intrusion Operations Office (TAO).But Joyce leads the department from his onlinebiographyIt can be found in the public information.
Lukasz Olejnik, a European security researcher, said on Twitter that China’s claims were “very ridiculous.”
“China (CCP) accuses US/NSA of cyberattack on China’s aviation university. Unusually, the Chinese (CCP) Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong protest. CCP media coverage of the NSA, and specifically targeting Rob Joyce. It’s ridiculous!” Olenik said.
China National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) released a report on September 5, saying that on June 22, 2022, Northwestern Polytechnical University issued a “public statement” saying that the school suffered an overseas cyber attack. CVERC and 360 companies jointly formed a technical team and participated in the technical analysis of the case throughout the process. It is preliminarily determined that the relevant attack activities originated from the TAO of the US NSA. The report also listed the cyber attack tools used by TAO.
The Washington Post cybersecurity expert Starks said in the article that some of the allegations made by CVERC in the report were vague, which also made it difficult to verify them. The allegations sometimes only identify older, outdated hacking tools, raising questions about the effectiveness of China’s cybersecurity agency.
Silas Cutler, senior director of cyber threat research and analysis at the Institute for Security and Technology, told Starks via email that “additional technical reports from CVERC are needed to enable the industry to Peer-to-peer independent validation of (CVERC’s) analysis results.”
Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade of cybersecurity firm SentinelOne tweeted that the 360 report was the latest in a series of bizarre allegations by the Chinese company . The allegations highlight older malware tools associated with the NSA as if they were a recent U.S. execution.
Why did the CCP issue a report accusing the US of cyberattacks?
Adam Meyers, senior vice president of threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, told Starks that with regard to Chinese entities — sometimes the government, sometimes companies, sometimes both — a recent report on There are several possible explanations for the report. One explanation is that Chinese cybersecurity firms may be trying to draw attention to their counterintelligence threat products; another is that they are working with the Chinese government to demonstrate that it goes both ways, that China can claim that the U.S. is Attack them in response to any US companies and entities accusing the Chinese (CCP) of stealing intellectual property.
Another explanation is that because the U.S. government has repeatedly accused the CCP of online malfeasance, the Chinese side is trying to send a message to the U.S. government that “we will start putting pressure on you because you have been putting pressure on us.”
It’s possible that all three theories are true at the same time, Myers said.
Another possible explanation, Josh Lospinoso, who used to work at TAO and is now CEO of cybersecurity firm Shift5, told The Washington Post that another possible explanation is that the CCP wants to get involved in regions such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. in the eyes of those who weaken the United States.
While recent reports from China have been more formal, government officials there have often verbally responded to past U.S. allegations of Chinese hackers by pointing to U.S. cyberspace operations, Los Pinoso said.
There are also experts who believe that the CCP has been carrying out massive accusations recently to influence public opinion. Gavin Wilde, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Washington Post by email: “I think Beijing seems to have gotten into a habit of repackaging old news lately — — which suggests that its role is primarily propaganda.”
Responsible editor: Lin Yan #