China on Friday lashed out at a US report and called it "far-fetched and unprofessional" which blamed Chinese-linked hackers for hundreds of attacks at public agencies, schools and other targets around the world.
The country’s foreign ministry reiterated that Washington carries out hacking attacks and still rarely gets reported by the cybersecurity industry.
The report by Mandiant, an American cyber security came ahead after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing. Blinken's visit aimed at repairing US and China's strained relations due to disputes over human rights, security and other irritants.
The report said hackers targeted emails and hacked to obtain confidential information, supporting the People's Republic of China agenda.
Blinken's visit was planned earlier this year but was canceled after the US government shot down a Chinese spy balloon flying over the country.
He stressed that American cybersecurity firms continuously churn out reports on so-called cyberattacks by other countries.
Mandiant’s report underlined that the latest attacks caused vulnerable exploitation in a Barracuda Networks email system and targeted foreign ministries in Southeast Asia, other government agencies, trade offices and academic organisations in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
China along with the United States and Russia, is known to be a leader in the development of computer hacking for military use. Reports even suggest the Chinese military also supports hobbyist hacking clubs that might work for outsiders.
Mandiant said the email attacks were focused on issues that are China’s priority, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.
It said the hackers targeted email accounts of government workers concentrating on political or strategic interests in China while participating in diplomatic meetings.