The US, EU, UK, NATO, and other allies on Monday accused China of being behind the hack of the Microsoft Exchange Server that was discovered earlier this year and vowed to work together against Beijing’s “destabilizing behavior in cyberspace.”
Similar to US accusations against Russia over cyberactivity, no evidence has been offered to prove that China was behind the Microsoft hack. When Microsoft first announced the cyber intrusion in March, the company released a statement that said it determined with “high confidence” that a group name Hafnium was responsible, which Microsoft assessed “to be state-sponsored and operating out of China, based on observed victimology, tactics, and procedures.”
Months later, the US and its allies are backing up the Microsoft assessment. A US official told reporters on Sunday that the US government assessed with “high confidence” that hackers affiliated with China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) were behind the intrusion, but it’s not clear how that assessment was reached. The UK’s Cyber Security Center declared that it is “highly likely Hafnium is associated with the Chinese state.”
The attribution is significant since it marks the first time NATO has accused China of “malicious” cyber activity. The alliance recently added cyberattacks to the list of things that could make NATO invoke the Article 5 mutual defense clause. Meaning, an alleged cyberattack could trigger a war with all 30 of NATO’s members.
The Justice Department unsealed indictments on Monday against four Chinese nationals for allegedly coordinating a hacking campaign on behalf of the MSS between 2011 and 2018. In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed to the DOJ charges as evidence that the US “will impose consequences on PRC [People’s Republic of China] malicious cyber actors for their irresponsible behavior in cyberspace.”
The US hasn’t threatened other actions, but the accusation against China could be a pretext for sanctions. The US used claims of cyberattacks against Russia to impose sanctions and kick out Russian diplomats. Now that the accusation is out there, China hawks in Congress and in the media will likely push for some type of action against Beijing.
Strange how this latest propaganda blitz came about. Monday the Israeli Pegasus spying software revelations hit the mainstream. Immediately countered by a piece in the New York times blaming China/Rusia for a series of hacks. All without proof. The author supposedly on holiday yet this led to a chain reaction with the State Dept. calling on the gullible nations like New Zealand to join in. Even Biden himself was unaware of events but was calling for a report.
Interesting, and very likely.
The pot again calling the kettle black. Makes one wonder if they themselves believe they are innocent and China is the rogue. They can fool some of the people a bit of the time, but with all the bad stuff they are up to like looting oil in Syria, its hard to believe they can ever fool most of the people, most of the time. Just forget about all of the people altogether.
So it was not Russia then ?
Just saying NATO accuses China would have sufficed.
War Drum Beating, Climate Change and COVID19 Pandemic false flag are used in instilling fear and cover-up of the World Corporate Government Bankruptcy and the impending Global Currency Reset. The Governments of the Bretton Woods’ member countries are illegitimate corporations. (KH)
Karen Hudes: Board of Governors of the World Bank and IMF announced a transition to asset-backed currencies.
https://nbakay.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/karen-hudes-board-of-governors-of-the-world-bank-and-imf-announced-a-transition-to-asset-backed-currencies/
https://twitter.com/NestorBAguilar2/status/1386348851863461898