Reason for cyber accusation

In the face of unfounded accusations by the United States that the Chinese government and military are behind cyberattacks on US websites, the Ministry of National Defense was quick to respond with a written statement on Tuesday and a news conference on Wednesday. This alone shows China's seriousness and sincerity in addressing cybersecurity.

A report released by the US Internet security firm Mandiant on Monday claimed that cyberattacks against US websites were traced to a building in Shanghai owned by the Chinese army. But given that hackers' origins are transnational, deceptive and anonymous, the report failed to produce any convincing evidence that its occupants were behind the attacks. It is unprofessional as well as irresponsible for the US firm to base its allegations on such shaky ground.

China is also a victim of cyberattacks. About 73,000 overseas IP addresses controlled more than 14 million computers in China last year, and 32,000 IP addresses remotely controlled 38,000 Chinese websites. A considerable number of these attacks could be traced back to IP addresses in the United States.