The US and China are constantly accusing each other of cyberattacks, but this latest incident might be more significant than the rest. China claims that the US is behind a series of cyberattacks targeting its National Time Service Center.
While the idea of the US waging war on time itself may sound amusing, China views these attacks very seriously. The research facility is reportedly responsible for providing timing services used across critical sectors, including communications, finance, power, transport, and defense throughout the country.
According to AP News, a post by China’s Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused the US National Security Agency (NSA) of exploiting vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a mobile phone brand to steal information from National Time Center employees back in 2022. Since then, the ministry alleges that the NSA deployed 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to disrupt the center’s internal network systems and attempted to infiltrate a key timing system between 2023 and 2024. However, no concrete evidence was provided to support these claims in the post.
“The US is accusing others of what it does itself,” the post continued. “Repeatedly hyping up claims about Chinese cyber threats.”
After discovering the breach, the ministry reportedly provided guidance to the National Time Service Center to eliminate further risks.
Claims of Chinese hacking attempts on US targets are not uncommon. Less than a week ago, a “nation-state threat actor” believed to be backed by China was accused of breaching a cybersecurity provider and remaining active inside its networks for at least 12 months.
Earlier incidents include the “worst in the nation’s history” telecom hack in 2024, which the FBI and CISA later attributed to PRC (People’s Republic of China)-affiliated actors. Additionally, 12 alleged Chinese hackers were charged earlier this year for infiltrating the US Treasury on behalf of China’s Public and State Security Ministries. There was also the Microsoft SharePoint hack, attributed to Chinese nation-state actors, which may have compromised the US Nuclear Security Administration.
These examples underscore the ongoing cyber tensions between the two nations. Yet, it would be naïve to think that the US is not conducting its own cyber-infiltration operations against China. In fact, the Chinese government has accused the US of similar activities in the past.
But time itself? Surely that’s off limits.
Given China’s vast size, keeping everything synchronized is a massive and vital undertaking for the country’s infrastructure. The headquarters of Chinese time would indeed make for a disruptive target. But ultimately, one must wonder — won’t someone have to adjust the clocks?
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/security/china-accuses-the-us-of-attacking-time-or-being-behind-a-series-of-cyberattacks-on-its-national-time-center-anyway/
