China Daily: Pompeo's Marriott hacking claim simply preposterous
China Daily |
Updated: 2018-12-14 15:23
Give a dog a bad name and hang it. That is exactly what the United States was trying to do when it pointed an accusing finger at China on Dec 12, claiming that the country was behind the massive hacking of data from hotel giant Marriott, involving some 500 million of its customers, China Daily reported.
Yet instead of concrete and credible evidence, such a serious accusation has so far been based on nothing other than "we believe" and "we suspect" — perfunctory assumptions — as made when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Fox News program that Washington believes China masterminded the Marriott data theft, and when officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security told the Senate Committee on the Judiciary that China is working to steal trade secrets and intellectual property from US companies in order to harm its economy.
The unfounded accusation is especially disappointing and worrisome since both countries had previously reached a consensus that they would not knowingly support the cyber theft of corporate secrets or business information, paving the way for concerted efforts to tackle cybercrimes.
Rather than trying to claim China stole the horse, the US should first fix the stable door. One of the largest ransomware attacks, which was staged in May last year, used one of the hacking tools that the US National Security Agency created for its own use. That an agency tasked with fighting cyberattacks was itself so vulnerable to hackers shows how serious the problem is.
China, as a major target of serious international cyberattacks, has always advocated international cooperation to safeguard cybersecurity. The internet is so pervasive in modern life that only combined efforts can ensure effective protection for all the inhabitants of cyberspace, China Daily reported.
Give a dog a bad name and hang it. That is exactly what the United States was trying to do when it pointed an accusing finger at China on Dec 12, claiming that the country was behind the massive hacking of data from hotel giant Marriott, involving some 500 million of its customers, China Daily reported.
Yet instead of concrete and credible evidence, such a serious accusation has so far been based on nothing other than "we believe" and "we suspect" — perfunctory assumptions — as made when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Fox News program that Washington believes China masterminded the Marriott data theft, and when officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security told the Senate Committee on the Judiciary that China is working to steal trade secrets and intellectual property from US companies in order to harm its economy.
The unfounded accusation is especially disappointing and worrisome since both countries had previously reached a consensus that they would not knowingly support the cyber theft of corporate secrets or business information, paving the way for concerted efforts to tackle cybercrimes.
Rather than trying to claim China stole the horse, the US should first fix the stable door. One of the largest ransomware attacks, which was staged in May last year, used one of the hacking tools that the US National Security Agency created for its own use. That an agency tasked with fighting cyberattacks was itself so vulnerable to hackers shows how serious the problem is.
China, as a major target of serious international cyberattacks, has always advocated international cooperation to safeguard cybersecurity. The internet is so pervasive in modern life that only combined efforts can ensure effective protection for all the inhabitants of cyberspace, China Daily reported.
