Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Photo: VCG

Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed on Thursday a new US attempt to hype so-called Chinese hacking group, including a claim that one such group nicknamed "Flax Typhoon" is run by a Chinese company, collects intelligence and carries out reconnaissance for Chinese security agencies.   

The group hijacked more than 200,000 consumer devices with half of them located in the US, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded on Thursday by saying that China firmly opposes various forms of cyberattacks, and at the same time opposes groundless accusation and smear against China. 

"We urge the US to stop making waves in the cyber space, act as a responsible major country, step up dialogue and cooperation with the international community, and jointly respond to cybersecurity risks," Lin said. 

The FBI and US Department of Justice (DoJ) obtained a warrant to seize the group's infrastructure, but they did not identify any of the targets by name, claiming they include universities, government agencies and other organizations. 

Neither the FBI nor DoJ provided sufficient evidence of the group and its connection with China, and the hacker hype is aimed only at undermining China's global image and justifying US' measures to contain China, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.  

The expert also noted that the accusation is problematic because the FBI itself is facing a credibility crisis both domestically and internationally, with many people believing that the information released by the agency is politically motivated.

One example is the infamous "China Initiative," which was initiated by DoJ in 2018 with deep involvement from the FBI. 

The US claimed the initiative was aimed at tackling economic espionage, but actually led to the harassment of scientists and wrongful prosecutions.   

In February 2022, the DOJ announced that China Initiative was ending, largely due to "perceptions that it unfairly painted Chinese Americans and US residents of Chinese origin as disloyal," according to media reports.

With such a record, the FBI's allegations are questionable, Li said. 

FBI said the "Flax Typhoon" was similar to operations of "Volt Typhoon," another hacking group the US claimed to be China-backed. But the previous hype was found to be an underhanded campaign by US politicians and intelligence community.