Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic nicknamed the Chinese hacking group 'Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31' or "APT31", calling it an arm of China's Ministry of State Security.
Credit: DH Illustration
Beijing: China on Tuesday urged the US and Britain to stop politicising the issue of cybersecurity, slandering and smearing China and imposing unilateral sanctions on the country.
"It is pure political manoeuvring for the United States and the United Kingdom to rehash the so-called cyberattacks carried out by China and to sanction Chinese individuals and entities," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.
"China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it," he said.
US and British officials on Monday filed charges, imposed sanctions, and accused Beijing of a sweeping cyberespionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic nicknamed the hacking group Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 or "APT31", calling it an arm of China's Ministry of State Security.
The Chinese Embassy in London called the charges "completely fabricated and malicious slanders."
"Previously, China had made technical clarifications and responses to the so-called APT31 information submitted by the British side. It clearly shows that the evidence provided by the British side is insufficient and the relevant conclusions lack professionalism," said Lin.
"Regrettably, however, the British side has not responded further since then," he added.
Britain has also accused Chinese hackers of trying to break into email accounts of British lawmakers who were critical of China.