China Claims US Strikes Xi’an Time Centre with Cyberattacks
China’s leading counter-espionage agency has charged the United States with executing an extended cyberattack campaign against its National Time Service Centre, a crucial establishment tasked with upholding the nation’s standard time, as per reports. In a statement, the Ministry of State Security alleged that the US National Security Agency had conducted “long-term, highly covert” attacks utilizing state-level cyberespionage tools. The ministry reported that the cyber intrusions commenced in March 2022 and included the theft of sensitive data from staff mobile phones and computer networks. The ministry reported that the US NSA took advantage of vulnerabilities in the messaging service of a foreign smartphone brand to gain access to the devices of time centre staff. The report indicated that the US agency had utilized stolen login credentials from April 2023 to breach the centre’s computer systems and examine its internal network. The report indicated that investigations traced the attacks through virtual servers situated in the United States, Europe, and Asia, which were utilized as “springboards” to conceal their origin. The ministry asserted that China’s cybersecurity authorities had collected evidence of the attacks and collaborated with the time centre to sever attack chains and enhance its defenses.
The National Time Service Centre, located in Xi’an and operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is pivotal in the generation and distribution of China’s standard time. Its precise services support sectors including communications, finance, power, transport, mapping, and defence. Wei Dong emphasized that the precision of timing was essential for national infrastructure. “If timing was a millisecond off, it could cause a chain reaction of failures at power substations,” he said, warning that even a microsecond deviation could trigger “fluctuations worth hundreds of billions of dollars” on global stock markets. Wei stated that a nanosecond-level error could disrupt the BeiDou satellite navigation system, while a picosecond discrepancy could lead to a lunar spacecraft’s position being miscalculated by several kilometres.
The allegations arise in the context of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing concerning trade and technology, featuring US tariff threats and China’s limitations on rare earth exports. In recent years, both countries have escalated their exchange of accusations regarding cyber espionage, with each labeling the other as its foremost digital threat. Earlier this month, China’s Ministry of Commerce released new rare earth export control documents in a format that is only readable by WPS Office, its domestically developed alternative to Microsoft Word. The action restricts access via American software and signifies Beijing’s increasing attempts to diminish dependence on US technology.
In September, cybersecurity firm Mandiant reported that a group of suspected Chinese hackers had infiltrated US software companies and law firms in a sophisticated espionage campaign designed to collect intelligence to support Beijing in its trade conflict with Washington. A report states that the hackers allegedly stole proprietary software from American tech firms, utilizing it to uncover new vulnerabilities for deeper network infiltration. The FBI has initiated an investigation, as US officials are still evaluating the extent of the breaches, the report stated.
