China expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions on a Beijing-based cybersecurity company for its alleged role in multiple hacker attacks on critical US infrastructure, the Associated Press reported.
China's cybersecurity agency, in turn, complained earlier today about multiple attacks on Chinese networks.
When asked about the sanctions against the Beijing-based "Integrity Technology Group" (Integrity Technology Group), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that the country had dealt with the cyberattacks and that Washington was using the occasion to "slander and slander China".
"For some time, the US side has been fanning the so-called Chinese cyberattacks and even initiated illegal unilateral sanctions against China," Guo said. "China firmly opposes this and will take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," the spokesman added.
"The company firmly opposes the US Treasury Department's groundless accusations and illegal unilateral sanctions against it," the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange today.
China's National Cybersecurity Information Center said it had detected attacks from various malicious websites and foreign IP addresses, including those located in the states of California and Florida. It also reported attacks from the Netherlands, Singapore, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam, which used programs to access data, steal intellectual property and violate privacy.
"They pose a serious threat to China's internal network units and Internet users, and some types of activities are suspected of committing criminal offenses," the center said in a statement on the "WeChat" platform, a popular Chinese social network.
On Friday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on "Integrity Technology" that block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent individuals and companies targeted by the sanctions from doing business with Americans. The department cited alleged multiple hacking attacks against Americans, including incidents attributed to the "Flax Typhoon" hacking group (Flax Typhoon), which is allegedly sponsored by the Chinese state to target its attacks against critical US infrastructure, the AP notes.