China rejects US hacking claims after domain seizures

China rejected US hacking allegations on Thursday after the US Justice Department and FBI said they had seized internet domains used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers.

Beijing's foreign ministry called the allegations “false information” and accused Washington of “distorting right and wrong”. Spokesman Lin Jian said China strongly opposed what he called the US practice of smearing China under the pretext of cybersecurity concerns.

The Justice Department and FBI said Tuesday that they had seized domains used by a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as QTFY and by hacking platforms called QScan and QTRouter.

US authorities said victims of QTFY intrusion activity included NASA, the Federal Reserve, the US Senate and the departments of energy, justice, and health and human services. The earlier US announcement also said private-sector targets included hospitals, universities, telecom providers, power companies, financial institutions and defense contractors.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said federal law enforcement had investigated and disabled what he called the People's Republic of China's malicious software. FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation disrupted a global botnet and hacking platform used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers to target US critical infrastructure.

Court documents cited in the earlier US account said QTFY offers computer hacking services to paying customers, including the Chinese Ministry of State Security and People's Liberation Army.

Lin urged Washington to abandon what he called “double standards and political manipulation” and accused the United States of being the world's biggest hacking and surveillance power.

The United States and several other countries frequently accuse China of state-backed hacking activity against governments, militaries and businesses. Beijing rejects the allegations.