US ‘should take some blame for cyberattack’

BEIJING – Reuters

Chinese state media criticized the United States on May 17 for hindering efforts to stop global cyber threats in the wake of the WannaCry “ransomware” attack that has infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide in recent days.

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) should shoulder some blame for the attack, which targets vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp systems and has infected some 30,000 Chinese organizations as of Saturday, the China Daily said. 

“Concerted efforts to tackle cybercrimes have been hindered by the actions of the United States,” it said, adding that Washington had “no credible evidence” to support bans on Chinese tech firms in the United States following the attack.

The malware attack, which began on May 12 and has been linked by some researchers to previous hits by a North Korean-run hacking operation, leveraged a tool built by the NSA that leaked online in April, Microsoft says. 

It comes as China prepares to enforce a wide-reaching cyber security law that U.S. business groups say will threaten the operations of foreign firms in China with strict local data storage laws and stringent surveillance requirements. 

China’s cyber authorities have repeatedly pushed for what they call a more “equitable” balance in global cyber governance, criticising U.S. dominance.

The China Daily pointed to the U.S. ban on Chinese telecommunication provider Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, saying the curbs were hypocritical given the NSA leak. 

Beijing has previously said the proliferation of fake news on U.S. social media sites, which are largely banned in China, is a reason to tighten global cyber governance.