hacker Photo: VCG

Senior White House officials met on Friday with telecommunications executives to discuss what the White House called "China's significant cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector," Reuters reported, which Chinese experts believe to be another round of persistent hype surrounding the issue of China.

The White House meeting was hosted by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology.

"The meeting was an opportunity to hear from telecommunications sector executives on how the US Government can partner with and support the private sector on hardening against sophisticated nation state attacks," the White House said in a statement.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post on Thursday the breach was "worst telecom hack in [US] history - by far."

Experts revealed that the US deliberately fabricates evidence of cyberattacks to tarnish China's image.

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 activities linked to a "China state-sponsored cyber actor" called Volt Typhoon, which had impacted networks across US critical infrastructure.

On April 15 and July 8, China's 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 a false narrative to secure more funding, while companies like Microsoft seek larger contracts from these agencies, according to the investigation.

In October, China released the third report on Volt Typhoon, while the US side remained silent on the matter. 

It can be said that the narrative of "China threat" and "China collapse" appears frequently, with often-changing themes, such as reports from Microsoft or issues in the telecommunications industry, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. "These arguments all lack factual basis, and they continually shift the so-called subjects of infringement. Many of the information sources are anonymous and lack substantial support," Lü said.

As Lü put it: "The international community sees clearly who is conducting long-term monitoring and espionage on its allies, carrying out indiscriminate cyberattacks on other countries. The actions of the US, lacking substantial evidence, will ultimately expose only the vulnerabilities in its own security system."

Responding to a similar US accusation of Chinese "state-sponsored hackers," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on November 14 that: "We have no interest in interfering in other countries' internal affairs through cyberspace and oppose spreading China-related disinformation out of a political agenda."