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US-China tech war
TechTech War

China cybersecurity firm alleges US National Security Agency is behind hacking group that has stolen a mass of critical data

  • This is the second time in a month that Qihoo 360 has accused the US of cyberattacks on China
  • Qihoo 360 says hacking group APT-C-40 is affiliated with the US government and has been secretly attacking China’s leading companies

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Chinese internet security firm Qihoo 360 showcasing its 5G digital security and protection system at the World 5G Convention in Beijing in November 2019. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Jiaxing Li

A Chinese cybersecurity company subject to US sanctions has alleged that a group of hackers backed by the US government has been attacking China for over a decade.

Qihoo 360, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhou Hongyi, said in a recent report that a hacking group known as APT-C-40 is affiliated with the US government and has been secretly attacking China’s leading companies, governments, research institutes and infrastructures over the past decade.

This is the second time in a month that Qihoo 360, which was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange five years after an initial public offering there in 2011, has accused the US of cyberattacks on China. An earlier March report said that the personal information of millions of Chinese internet users had already been stolen by the same US hacking group.

And back in March 2020, China’s biggest cybersecurity company alleged that US Central Intelligence Agency hackers had spent more than a decade breaking into the Chinese airline industry and other targets. The US government two months later put Qihoo 360, along with two dozen government institutions and Chinese companies, on a sanctions list for “supporting the procurement of items for military end-use in China”.

Qihoo 360’s accusations mark the latest exchange of hostilities between China and the US over cyberattacks. US cybersecurity firm Mandiant claimed in a report this month that hackers linked to China’s Ministry of State Security had attacked at least six state governments since last year.
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