China Denies Regarding Espionage Group Accused Of Attacking Singapore's Critical Infrastructure

JAKARTA The Chinese Embassy in Singapore has denied allegations that cyber espionage groups accused of carrying out attacks on Singapore's critical infrastructure have links to the Chinese government.

Through an upload on Facebook last weekend, the Chinese Embassy called the allegations "slander and baseless accusations".

"The embassy wants to reiterate that China firmly opposes and eradicates all forms of cyber attacks according to the law. China does not encourage, support, or tolerate any hacking activities," they wrote on Saturday, July 19.

The statement came after a Singaporean minister on Friday, July 18 said that an espionage group called UNC3886 targeted "high-value strategic targets" including critical infrastructure that provides essential services. However, the minister did not mention the group's origin or affiliation.

Meanwhile, Google's cybersecurity company Mandiant previously called UNC3886 a 'related to China' espionage group that has attacked organizations in the defense, technology and telecommunications sectors in the United States and Asia.

Beijing routinely denies any allegations of involvement in cyber espionage, and claims that they have actually become victims of such threats.

According to the Singapore Cyber Agency, the critical infrastructure sector in the country includes energy, water, banking, finance, health services, transportation, government, communications, media, as well as security and emergency services.