US, Allies Press For Action After Tying China To Cyberattacks

The U.S. is joining forces with the U.K., the EU and NATO in pressing officials from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to take action after exposing the region as the origin of cyberattacks.

“Countries around the world are making it clear that concerns regarding the PRC’s malicious cyber activities are bringing them together to call out those activities, promote network defense and cybersecurity, and act to disrupt threats to our economies and national security,” according to a White House statement on Monday (July 19).

The Biden administration said that the U.S. and its allies maintain that the malicious cyber activities are a threat to national security, and that collectively they will take action to counter the attacks stemming from China and its territories. Some of the measures include the sharing of cyber intelligence and network defense information.

“… The President is putting forward a common cyber approach with our allies and laying down clear expectations and markers on how responsible nations behave in cyberspace,” according to the White House statement.

The G7 and EU are committed to detecting and preventing ransomware, and NATO is implementing a new cyber defense policy.

The goal of the action is “exposing the PRC’s use of criminal contract hackers to conduct unsanctioned cyber operations globally, including for their own personal profit,” according to the White House statement.

“The compromise and exploitation of the Microsoft Exchange server undermined the security and integrity of thousands of computers and networks worldwide, including in the member states and EU institutions,” according to a statement from the Council of the EU.

The EU Council also said it uncovered malicious cyber activities that targeted government agencies, political organizations and key industries in Europe, which were found to have originated from hacker groups Advanced Persistent Threat 40 and Advanced Persistent Threat 31, with attacks coming from China.

Chinese officials have been cracking down on tech firms in the region, with the latest move involving ride-hailing and payments firm Didi. Officials from seven government agencies descended on Didi’s Beijing headquarters on Friday (July 16) as the start of an on-site cybersecurity review.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Defense launched a new website, StopRansomware.gov, to help combat the growing problem of global cyberattacks.