Chinese HACKERS_ Beijing admits Chinese hackers behind attack on US agency

NIKKEI
ASIAN REVIEW

December 14, 2015 7:00 am JST
Cybersecurity

Beijing admits Chinese hackers behind attack on US agency

HIROYUKI AKITA, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- Beijing has for the first time acknowledged that Chinese hackers were behind a cyberattack carried out against a U.S. government agency.



Guo Shengkun, left, China's public security minister; Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney general; and Jeh Johnson, head of homeland security © AP

The admission -- which follows years of China denying any connection to cyber espionage -- came at a meeting between top Chinese and American national security officials in Washington D.C.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with their Chinese counterparts, including China's Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun, for the first U.S.-China ministerial talks on fighting cybercrime in Washington on Dec. 1-2.

The Chinese officials maintained, however, that their government is not involved in cyber espionage activity.

Massive attack

The U.S. government has been fuming over an attack on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in which its computer system was hacked into and the personal information of more than 21.5 million people stolen. The attack came to light in June, and Washington has suspected China's involvement from the beginning.

The hackers stole records relating to federal employees' health, family and household situations, as well as the personal information of foreign individuals in close contact with the U.S. government, according to U.S. media reports. The fingerprints of 5 million people were also stolen, The New York Times said.

It is one of the most serious cyberattacks in U.S. history. Such a large-scale breach of personal data by foreign hackers not only compromises government employees, the leaked data could also be used to reveal the identities of U.S. spies, potentially putting their lives at risk.

U.S. media reports on China's involvement were based on accounts of government officials speaking on condition of anonymity. Initially, Beijing categorically denied such allegations.

Then came the about-face. "Through investigation, the case turned out to be a criminal case," Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said in an English-language article dated Dec. 2. The Chinese officials told their U.S. counterparts as much at the meeting, according to the article.

READ MORE: http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Beijing-admits-Chinese-hackers-behind-attack-on-US-agency

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