On Monday, Chinese government officials have reacted strongly to the US government's claims that its five military officers have participated in cyber-spying. According to China, the Justice Department indictment was based on facts that are purely fabricated and that it would further jeopardize relations between the countries.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang said, "The Chinese government, the Chinese military and their relevant personnel have never engaged or participated in cyber theft of trade secrets. The U.S. accusation against Chinese personnel is purely ungrounded and absurd."
Earlier, the US government had unsealed an indictment against the Chinese military men, whom they accused of economic espionage, The Los Angeles Times said. The indictment indicated that the Chinese military officers allegedly hacked into computers of US companies who are in the energy, steel manufacturing and solar energy industries. The newspaper said that the indictment would be the first case brought against foreign government officials on such grounds. Analysts have touted the case as important symbolically.
Associate professor Kathleen Walsh at the Naval War College said that the Justice Department indictment highlighted the disparity of the viewpoints of two of the most influential nations in the world.
"Therefore, this indictment is unlikely to fundamentally change China's long-standing technology-development strategy and cyber-espionage activities. It does, nonetheless, raise the costs somewhat, if mainly in diplomatic terms and as a loss of global face," Walsh said, stressing that her analysis does not represent the views of any of the two countries.
In a news conference in Washington, US Attorney General Eric Holder Jr said that the companies who have been hacked allegedly by the accused including US Steel Corp, Westinghouse, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies, the United Steel Workers Union and US subsidiaries of SolarWorld, a German company.
Holder added, "This administration will not tolerate actions by any nation that seeks to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market. This case should serve as a wake-up call to the seriousness of the ongoing cyber threat."
