China US Photo: GT

A top cybersecurity expert condemned the US government, saying it is "a thief crying 'stop thief'" and rebutting the Trump administration for issuing an alert accusing the Chinese government of using malware to hit sectors including nuclear power, defense industrial base and aerospace, all in a bid to win reelection.

Making an enemy of China in every aspect is the one-two punch of the Trump's administration to earn more support by consortium and voters so as to win the upcoming presidential election, Qin An, head of the Beijing-based Institute of China Cyberspace Strategy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Qin's refute came after the US government issued its latest alert about China's cyber capabilities and US President Donald Trump vowed to ban Chinese short video app TikTok in the name of national security risks.

The US Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense (DOD) authored the alert on Monday saying the malware, known as Taidoor, has been used by the Chinese government in the last decade, the US media outlet Bloomberg reported.

The report said that the purpose of the alert is to "enable network defense and reduce exposure to Chinese government malicious cyber-activity." The malware, which reportedly has been used since 2008, has hit sectors including law, nuclear power, airlines, engineering, defense industries, technology, government and aerospace, according to the report.

Qin dismissed the accusation saying that the alert is akin to "a thief crying 'stop thief'." 

"The accusation is vague and imprecise. [In fact,] US intelligence agencies have attacked a wide range of areas of China over the last 11 years," Qin said.

According to previous report, a hacking organization affiliated with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been attacking Chinese organs for over a decade, including the aerospace sector, scientific research institutions, internet companies, oil industry and government agencies, a report from a Chinese security company revealed in March.  

Along with groundless accusations against Chinese-owned TikTok, the US is using a "one-two punch" to attack and smear China's image, aiming to suppress and crush China's development in information technology and communication and to contain its influence.

The series of groundless and irrational attacks against Chinese cybersecurity are essentially part of Trump's strategy to win reelection in November.

"Trump is acting like a mad dog barking and biting at China, which the US government has set as a threat, to win more support from consortiums and voters," Qin said.

However, Qin warned that Trump's wishful thinking could be in vain as polls put Biden ahead of Trump, due to the president's poor handling of the coronavirus and the economy.

For many Americans, their enemy is not China but their current president who is indifferent to their lives as the country is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic but the president's only struggle is his election victory, Qin said.

The US has been conducting the world's widest espionage activities, but accused China of hacking and spying without substantive investigations and evidence, which is also political manipulation to get itself out of the dilemma of its incompetent COVID-19 response, said Chinese analysts.