cyber attack Photo:VCG

Regarding the latest report released by China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center on the US' false narrative on Volt Typhoon, which once again exposes cyber espionage and disinformation operations conducted by US government agencies, the US side has remained silent. Analysts said that whether it is past global cyber espionage or disinformation campaigns against China, the facts are clear, and faced with irrefutable evidence, the US can only remain silent.

The National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention Technology on Monday released the third report on Volt Typhoon, further disclosing the cyber espionage operations targeting China, Germany and other countries which were launched by the US and other Five Eyes countries.

As of press time, the US Embassy in China and Microsoft have not replied to emails sent by the Global Times for comment.

On May 24, 2023, cybersecurity authorities from the Five Eyes countries - the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand - issued a joint advisory, claiming they had identified activity linked to a "China state-sponsored cyber actor" called Volt Typhoon, which had impacted networks across US critical infrastructure. The advisory primarily referenced a Microsoft report released the same day.

On April 15 and July 8, the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and 360 Digital Security Group released reports exposing the Volt Typhoon narrative as a fabrication by the US government. Multiple cybersecurity authorities in the US have been pushing the false narrative to secure more funding, while companies like Microsoft seek larger contracts from these agencies, according to the investigation.

Neither the US government agencies nor Microsoft have responded to the Global Times' inquiry over the report. 

The US cannot find any grounds for rebuttal and it has no choice but to remain silent, Zhuo Hua, an international affairs expert at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"Whether it's the past global cyber surveillance and espionage activities, or the disinformation campaigns against China, the facts are very clear. Even when faced with irrefutable evidence, the US cannot officially acknowledge or admit to it. Such state-sponsored large-scale cyber threats can even rise to the level of cyber terrorism," said Zhuo. 

After the two reports were released, more than 50 cyber security experts from the US, Europe, Asia and other countries and regions have contacted us. They believed that the US government and Microsoft have attributed Volt Typhoon to Chinese government without any concrete evidence, a researcher from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Zhuo said that the attention from foreign audiences on this US disinformation campaign shows that, despite the government's efforts to conceal, suppress, and downplay events like the PRISM scandal, the distrust of the US government among Western citizens has not been repaired. They still want to see the facts and truth about the current state of international cybersecurity.

The expert said that for a long time, ordinary people in the West have been trapped in an information cocoon controlled by interest groups like intelligence agencies, receiving only a negative, demonized image of China. This has led to the reckless vilification of China, with cybersecurity issues used as a political tool to contain it.

The report, which was released in multiple languages including Chinese, English, French, German, and Japanese, is an effort to break through the Western information barrier and protect the right of Western audiences to know the true situation of international cybersecurity, said Zhuo.