(Adnkronos) – China points the finger at the National Security Agency (NSA) for “cyberattacks” during the Winter Asian Games. The accusation comes from the police authorities of Harbin, a city in the northeast of the Asian giant that hosted the event last February. According to the nationalist tabloid Global Times, Harbin police authorities have placed “three NSA agents on a wanted list with a bounty for their involvement in cyberattacks against the Games.” The news was also reported by the Chinese official agency Xinhua, with accusations also concerning the University of California and Virginia Tech, again for the alleged “involvement” in “cyberattacks” against the Games. It is unclear how the two US universities are involved, while on the “bounty” the Global Times writes that “cash rewards will be guaranteed to those who provide concrete clues” to the authorities and to those who “help them catch the suspects”.
The news comes amid the trade war between Beijing and Washington. The official media of the Asian giant spare no details, including names, on the people accused and the “cyberattacks”. According to Xinhua, “the NSA carried out cyberattacks” before the Games “against critical systems” of the event, “such as registration operations” and “the management of arrivals and departures”, which “contained a lot of sensitive data of the people” who took part in the Games. Furthermore, the agency continues, “the NSA has launched cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure sectors in Heilongjiang province”, of which Harbin is the capital, “including in the energy, transport, water resources, telecommunications, research institutions in the field of national defense”. The three in particular are accused of having “repeatedly carried out cyberattacks” also against “companies, such as Huawei”. In the always difficult relations with the United States, there are continuous exchanges of accusations of espionage.
