Washington/London/Beijing: The United States and the international community have accused China of being responsible for the cyberattack in March on the Microsoft Exchange servers. Over 30,000 organisations were hit in the United States and across the world. The United States, Canada, the UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, along with NATO and the European Union (EU), issued a joint statement on the cyberattack on Monday, holding China responsible. The statement slammed the hack as a criminal act. It is the first time the international community came together and protested against China’s cyberattack.
US President Joe Biden delivered a blow to China as he said, ‘China is worse and much destructive than Russia when it comes to cyberattacks. The Chinese regime is providing refuge to cyberhackers and the resources required for launching cyberattacks.’
Biden also said they were still investigating the cyberattacks launched by China. The White House released an independent statement after the US president’s press conference. Many allied and partner nations have blamed China for the cyberattack along with the United States in the statement. It went on to mention that China’s Ministry of State Security was behind the attacks. A senior official from the Bident administration even noted that they had raised the issue and discussed it with the Chinese regime.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made the stinging allegation against China that the cyberattack amounts to cyber sabotage. China’s act is criminal, and it is time to hold it responsible, Raab warned.
Large-scale cyber-attacks were launched on US companies over the last year. Among these, the United States had held Russian hackers responsible for the SolarWinds cyber hack. In response, the United States had warned of sanctions and counterattacks. However, the Biden administration had not taken a stand to take action against China’s cyberattacks.
In the wake of the events, the stance adopted by the United States, along with allied and partner nations, is striking. The European Union had not taken a very aggressive stand against China’s cyberattacks in the past. Therefore, after the US took the initiative for the action, the EU’s involvement assumes significance.
China has denied all the serious allegations made against it. Nevertheless, the new front opened by the international community against China after the coronavirus pandemic, the South China Sea, Uyghurs and human rights abuse may pose a new challenge to China.
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