US-China Cyber Tensions Escalate as NSA Unit Accused of Hacking Defense-Tied University
Tensions rise between the US and China as accusations of malicious cyber-attacks escalate. China has strongly condemned the alleged hacks, demanding explanations from the US. The Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO), a unit of the National Security Agency (NSA), stands accused of targeting Xi'an's Northwestern Polytechnical University.
The university, specializing in aeronautical, astronautical, and marine engineering, is closely tied to China's defense industry. Over 140GB of high-value data was stolen, including key network configurations, management data, and core technological information. TAO employed two zero-day vulnerability exploiting tools for the SunOS operating system and over 40 different cyber-attack weapons, exploiting more than 1,100 attack links. The operation involved a lengthy preparation phase, with TAO building anonymized attack infrastructure to conceal its activities.
The US government has designated the university on its Entity List due to its involvement in sensitive projects like unmanned aerial vehicles and missile proliferation. China has called for a thorough investigation, warning that such actions undermine international relations and threaten global security.
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