China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center published its first report on the US’s attack on Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) on September 5, confirming that the Office of Tailored Access Operation (TAO) under the US National Security Agency (NSA) has constantly attacked the NPU’s key network equipment and stolen technical data related to network management and maintenance.
Based in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, the NPU is one of China’s leading universities specializing in aviation, aerospace, marine engineering and scientific research. In June, the NPU claimed in a public statement they had discovered an overseas hacking organization sent phishing emails to teachers and students in an attempt to steal email data and personal information.
The virus response center launched a thorough investigation and traced the attack to the TAO. It said that 41 network attack tools were used to breach NPU servers over 1,000 times, and that core data had been stolen. The report also revealed that the US has conducted indiscriminate voice monitoring on China’s mobile phone users to steal text messages and location information.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning condemned the US for severely harming China’s national security and personal information security. She demanded the US to stop the attacks and account for their actions.
The US has not yet responded to China’s allegations.
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