ANONYMOUS SERVERS
Xinhua said the NSA operations took place during the Winter Games and were “suspected of activating specific pre-installed backdoors” in Microsoft Windows operating systems on specific devices in Heilongjiang.
In order to cover its tracks, the NSA purchased IP addresses in different countries and “anonymously” rented a large number of network servers including in Europe and Asia,” Xinhua said.
The NSA intended to use cyberattacks to steal the personal data of participating athletes, the news agency said, adding that the cyber attacks reached a peak from the first ice hockey game on Feb 3. The attacks targeted information systems such as the Asian Winter Games registration system and stored “sensitive information about the identities of relevant personnel of the event”, Xinhua said.
The US routinely accuses Chinese state-backed hackers of launching attacks against its critical infrastructure and government bodies.
Last month, Washington announced indictments against a slew of alleged Chinese hackers who targeted the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the US Department of Commerce, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia.
Beijing denies all involvement in overseas cyber espionage.
After years of being accused by Western governments of cyberattacks and industrial espionage, in the past two years several Chinese organisations and government organs have accused the United States and its allies of similar behaviour.
In December, China said it found and dealt with two US cyber attacks on Chinese tech firms to “steal trade secrets” since May 2023, but did not name the agency involved.
