International Coalition Accuses Three Chinese Companies Of Hacking Activities

JAKARTA An international coalition consisting of the United States, its traditional English ally, as well as other countries such as Germany, Italy and Japan, accuses three Chinese companies of involvement in hacking activities.

In a 37-page report published on Wednesday, August 27, the coalition accused companies named Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology, and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology of providing "cyber-related products and services for China's intelligence services, including several units in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Ministry of State Security."

Sichuan Juxinhe has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for allegedly linked to a hacker group dubbed "Salt Typhoon." The group is accused of stealing large number of phone call data belonging to Americans, including communications from senior leaders in Washington. Meanwhile, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie were reportedly the targets of the recent unexplained data leak.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it opposes the dissemination of information it considers to be wrong and politically motivated. It also stated that it was very dissatisfied with the United States' move which was deemed to invite other countries to "vilify and trap" China on cybersecurity issues.

Although US officials have long complained about hacking activities linked to China, violations linked to Salt Typhoon are considered very broad. A US senator last year called the scale of these violations "increasing," while other senators stated that this may be "the biggest telecommunication hack in the history of our country."

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, high-ranking FBI official in cyberspace, Brett Leotherman, said that Salt Typhoon was responsible for "one of the most significant cyber espionage violations we've seen in the United States." According to the report, hackers targeted more than 80 countries and showed interest in more than 600 companies.

The US regularly accuses foreign entities, including from China, of their involvement in cyber espionage, sometimes along with members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance consisting of Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand. This Wednesday's statement was also signed by the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.