China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has intensified its rebuttal against U.S. accusations of Chinese cyber espionage, asserting that the U.S. has fabricated the existence of the cyber group Volt Typhoon to distract from its own global hacking operations. The Chinese agency, working with the National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention, accused the U.S. and its Five Eyes intelligence partners of carrying out extensive cyberattacks against multiple countries, including China, France, Germany, and Japan.
CVERC alleged that the U.S. government is using these tactics to cover up its own cyber espionage, presenting “ironclad evidence” of false flag operations intended to mislead the global community. “The U.S. government has manufactured the threat of Chinese cyberattacks while building an expansive internet surveillance network that targets users worldwide,” the agency claimed.
Accusations of U.S. Cyber Espionage and Misleading Reports
The CVERC further charged that the U.S. military base in Guam was not the victim of Volt Typhoon attacks, as previously claimed, but was instead responsible for coordinating cyberattacks on China and Southeast Asian countries. The agency pointed to Guam as a critical hub for routing stolen data.
Earlier reports from CVERC in July had labeled the Volt Typhoon group as part of a misinformation campaign orchestrated by U.S. intelligence. The U.S. has identified Volt Typhoon as a Chinese-backed cyber espionage unit active since 2019, allegedly infiltrating critical infrastructure by exploiting edge devices like routers and firewalls.
Tactics of Disguise and Global Surveillance
In the latest document, Chinese authorities doubled down on their claims, stating that over 50 cybersecurity experts from Europe, Asia, and the U.S. reached out to express doubts about the American narrative on Volt Typhoon. However, no specific names or evidence were provided to back these claims.
CVERC also accused the U.S. of deploying a stealthy toolkit, dubbed Marble, designed to obscure the origins of its cyber tools by embedding foreign language traces such as Chinese, Russian, and Arabic into malicious code, potentially framing other nations for cyberattacks. This toolkit allegedly dates back to at least 2015.
In conclusion, the report urged the international community to focus on cooperative cybersecurity efforts, warning against political manipulation in attributing cyber threats. Chinese officials called for a united front against misleading narratives and to prioritize the development of technologies that provide better defense against global cyber threats.
