A concept photo of cybersecurity Photo: VCG

 
A Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) spokesperson said on Monday China urged the US to stop using cybersecurity issues to smear against and discredit China, and vowed to take all necessary measures to protect China's legitimate rights and interests. 

In response to a media question about the US Treasury Department's recent sanctions against a Beijing-based cybersecurity firm over hacking allegations, Chinese FM spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a routine press conference on Monday that China has stated its stance multiple times regarding the issue of so-called cyberattacks, and urged the US to refrain from using cybersecurity issues to tarnish and discredit China. 

The US imposed sanctions on the Beijing-based cybersecurity company Integrity Technology allegedly for its involvement in "multiple computer intrusion incidents against US victims," as stated in a Friday announcement by US Treasury Department. 

"Recently, the US has been relentless in hyping so-called attacks by Chinese hackers and has even imposed unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies, China strongly opposes these actions and will take necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests," Guo said, adding that China has always resolutely opposed all forms of cyberattacks and cracked down on such practices in accordance with the law.

Integrity Technology Group (Integrity Tech), a high-tech Chinese company in the information technology service industry, said in a public statement on Sunday that the sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department are unilateral actions, and its inclusion on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list is not supported by factual evidence. It firmly opposes the baseless US accusations and illegal unilateral sanctions against it, said the company.