We don't rely on stealing, China plays victim card on hacking and cyber attacks

"The relevant allegations are pure rumors and slanders. Cyber attacks are highly complicated and sensitive, and their origin is difficult to trace," said the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India.

Representational Image (Reuters)

New Delhi: Amid the recent reports of the Chinese hackers targetting the Indian COVID-19 vaccine makers and being behind the Mumbai power outage in 2020, China on  Tuesday (March 2) said that it doesn't 'rely on stealing'.

"The relevant allegations are pure rumors and slanders. Cyber attacks are highly complicated and sensitive, and their origin is difficult to trace," said the Spokesperson of China's Embassy in India on reports of Chinese hackers launching cyber attacks on the Indian facilities.

He added that speculation and fabrication have no role to play on the issue of cyber attacks and said that China is firmly opposed to such irresponsible and ill-intentioned practice.

"For some time, there have been certain speculation about China’s so-called theft of other countries' vaccines through hacker attacks. China takes the lead in vaccine research and development, we don't need to and will not rely on stealing to obtain vaccines," he said.

He also said that both China and India are contributors to international cooperation on vaccines, and both have fallen victim to disinformation. 

"China is a staunch defender of cyber security and also a major victim of hacking and cyber attacks. China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and crimes. In accordance with law, we've been cracking down on such attacks launched inside China or using China's cyber infrastructure. This position is consistent and clear," he stated.

He also said that China is firmly opposed to politicizing and stigmatizing cyber security issues, which is not conducive to resolving hacking issues and will only weaken mutual trust among countries. 

China is firmly opposed to politicizing & stigmatizing cyber security issues, and irresponsible & ill-intentioned practice of accusing a particular party with no evidence. We call on relevant media to deny such groundless disinformation platforms & channels for dissemination. pic.twitter.com/Sj4qVnKKgI — Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India (@ChinaSpox_India) March 2, 2021

He noted that cyber attacks are a challenge faced by all countries and called on all countries to advance dialogue and cooperation and handle this challenge together on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. 

"China is ready to work with other parties to jointly address cyber security threats, safeguard peace and stability in cyberspace and build a community with a shared future in cyberspace," he said.

Earlier, a cyber intelligence firm told Reuters news agency that a Chinese state-backed hacking group has in recent weeks targeted the IT systems of two Indian coronavirus vaccine makers.

On the other hand, a report also claimed that the power outage in Mumbai in October 2020 was likely a Chinese cyber attack, which took place amid the India-China border tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).