X

NSA: China is violating antihacking deal it made with US

An official says China is "well beyond the bounds," according to Reuters.

Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
Expertise Culture, Video Games, Breaking News
Sean Keane
2 min read
China Prepare for the Golden Week 7-day National Holiday

China hasn't been honoring a 2015 agreement, an NSA official says.

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A National Security Agency official says China has been breaching a 2015 agreement to stop cyberspying against the US.

Rob Joyce, a senior intelligence official with the NSA, aired his suspicions Thursday, according to Reuters. He did note that the even though the attacks haven't stopped, they have dropped "dramatically" since the 2015 agreement between then-President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the deal, neither government would "conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property including trade secrets or other confidential information for commercial advantage," Obama said back in 2015.

"It's clear that they are well beyond the bounds today of the agreement that was forged between our countries," Joyce said, according to Reuters.

Watch this: DHS secretary says US must fight back on hacking attacks

China "firmly opposes" the allegations, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reportedly told a daily news briefing in China.

Last month, China responded to a report that President Donald Trump's personal iPhone had been tapped by Chinese spies by suggesting that he switch to Huawei. Trump's relationship with China has been tense since the US entered a trade war with the country. A Bloomberg Businessweek report alleged last month that Chinese surveillance microchips had been inserted into Apple and Amazon data center equipment during the manufacturing process, prompting China and the tech companies to issue firm denials.

In August, researchers said they found Chinese hackers targeting Alaska's state government, as well as the state's Department of Natural Resources and utilities companies, as its leaders went to China to discuss trade deals.

Neither the NSA nor the Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately responded to requests for further comment about Joyce's comments.

The best PCs for privacy-minded people

See all photos