China finds “irrefutable evidence” of US NSA cyberattacks on time Authority

According to Bloomberg, China’s Ministry of State Security says it has found irrefutable evidence that the US National Security Agency conducted cyber intrusions into China’s National Time Service Center, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which maintains the official national time standard. The statement alleges that from 25 March 2022 the NSA exploited a flaw in a foreign SMS service to hack staff phones and steal sensitive data.

It also claims that on 18 April 2023 the agency used stolen credentials to access the centre’s computers and study its network. Between August 2023 and June 2024, the NSA allegedly deployed a new cyber warfare platform, with 42 cyber tools aimed at internal systems, a precision timing system, and the planting of disruptive code. The attacks, said to have occurred late at night Beijing Time, were routed via VPNs in the US, Europe and Asia, using forged certificates and encryption to conceal activity. China says it gathered evidence, halted the attacks, and strengthened defenses, while the NSA has not commented.