China Ministry of State Security, US National Security Agency (NSA) With an operation carried out between 2023 and 2024 National Time Service Center He claimed that he was targeting. It was stated that the center in question provides time synchronization to the country’s communication, finance and defense networks, and therefore the attack could affect national security. According to information confirmed by Reuters and Associated Press, Chinese officials stated that the operation was organized to gain access to sensitive systems across the country.
National Time Service Center, Affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences As an institution, it produces and distributes the national time standard. In the ministry’s statement, the attack 42 different cyber attack tools It was stated that these tools were used and that these tools targeted the internal networks of the center. Additionally, vulnerabilities in the messaging system of a foreign mobile phone brand were allegedly exploited to infiltrate employees’ mobile devices. It is claimed that sensitive data is captured with this method. The Chinese side, these attacks in communications and energy infrastructure He emphasized that it carries risks that could lead to outages.
Authorities reported that after the operations were detected, the systems were protected and network defense measures were strengthened. Although the technical details of the incident were not shared, Chinese researchers suggested that the attacks were carried out in a long-term and organized manner. Despite this, the US National Security Agency did not make any statement on the issue. The US Treasury Department reported a similar attack last year. “China is a state-sponsored actor” He stated that it was carried out by. This situation is between the two countries Mutual cyber accusations shows that it continues to increase.
China’s Ministry of State Security supported its accusations with concrete examples
In the report published by MSS, it was stated that in the first stage of the attack, data was collected from employees’ mobile phones and then the center’s scheduling infrastructure was infiltrated. The report states that unauthorized access attempts started in 2022 and continued until 2024. It was claimed that during this period, permanent access was gained to the center’s network systems through various malware. The attack may cause delays and synchronization disorders in data transmission across the country. transferred.
Chinese cybersecurity experts argued that the incident was not just a technical attack due to NTSC’s connection with defense and financial systems. Additionally, given the complexity of the network topology at the center, it was assessed that the attack was planned at an international level. Chinese officials reported that the systems are now being monitored and new security protocols have been put in place to prevent similar attempts.
The US side remains silent on the issue. It was also announced that the attack that the Ministry of Treasury was exposed to last December originated from China. These mutual accusations cyber security and national infrastructure protection It shows that the tension between the two countries in the field has become more complex. Both countries are now taking new steps to strengthen their national network defenses.