Chinese authorities have accused the US National Security Agency of carrying out “advanced” cyber attacks during the Asian Winter Games in February. Among those accused are two universities.

China has accused the US National Security Agency (NSA) of launching “advanced” cyber attacks during the Asian Winter Games in February.

This accusation comes in the midst of escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington, a trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump, and mutual tariff decisions, which have been ongoing.

BLAME ON TWO UNIVERSITIES FROM POLICE

Police officials in the northeastern city of Harbin, China, announced that three individuals suspected of being NSA agents have been placed on the wanted list. Following investigations, authorities also accused the University of California and Virginia Tech University of being involved in the attacks.

Reports in the Chinese state media identified the alleged NSA agents as Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling, and Stephen W. Johnson. The three individuals were charged with “repeatedly conducting cyber attacks on China’s critical information infrastructure and participating in cyber attacks against Huawei and other businesses.” However, the specific involvement of the two universities in the attacks was not disclosed.

CHINA CALLS FOR RESPONSIBLE APPROACH FROM US

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed the attacks and conveyed Beijing’s concerns to the US. Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian, in a regular press briefing, called on the US to “adopt a responsible approach to cyber security” and to “stop unfounded defamation and attacks against China.”

According to a Xinhua report based on the Harbin police, it was reported that cyber attacks were carried out against vital sectors in Heilongjiang province, including energy, infrastructure, water protection, communication, and national defense research institutions. The attacks were allegedly intended to sabotage China’s critical information infrastructure, cause social unrest, and steal important classified information.

DETAIL OF “MICROSOFT” IN CHINA’S ALLEGATIONS

According to Xinhua, NSA operations took place during the Winter Games. It was claimed that these operations were carried out by activating certain pre-installed backdoors on Microsoft Windows operating systems on specific devices in Heilongjiang.

Allegedly, NSA purchased IP addresses from different countries to conceal their tracks and anonymously rented a large number of network servers, including in Europe and Asia. It was claimed that with these actions, NSA aimed to steal personal data of athletes participating in the games, reaching their peak during the first ice hockey match on February 3.

The attacks targeted information systems such as the Asian Winter Games registration system and stored sensitive information about the identities of relevant event staff.