China ‘condemns’ Pegasus spyware surveillance

Zhao Lijian accused the U.S. of being evasive about facts while claiming cybersecurity threats from China.

Updated - July 22, 2021 06:54 pm IST - Beijing

File photo of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

File photo of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

China on Thursday “strongly condemned” the practice of cyber-surveillance, terming it as a common challenge to all countries as part of a wide cybersecurity threat.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks while reacting to reports of an investigation by a global media consortium that showed Pegasus software from Israel-based NSO Group is being used to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents across the world.

“If it is true, China issues strong condemnation,” Mr. Zhao told a media briefing while reacting to questions on the Pegasus spyware controversy from the official media here.

“Cyber surveillance is a common challenge to all countries as part of a wide cybersecurity threat,” he said.

All countries should work based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits, engage in talks and cooperation to respond to the threats, he said.

He accused the U.S. of being evasive about facts while claiming cybersecurity threats from China.

“The US is ganging up with its allies in smearing China with fabricated names. It only shows its guilty conscience. Most of the cyber-attacks come from the US,” he said.

On Monday, Mr. Zhao rejected the US and NATO allegations of China carrying out a global campaign of hacking and alleged that “under the US encouragement, NATO has made cyberspace the new battlefield” which may in turn fuel the cyber arms race.

“The US has ganged up with allies and launched unwarranted accusations against China on Cyber security,” Mr. Zhao said.

An unprecedented group of allies and partners, including the EU, the U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and NATO joined the US on Monday in exposing and criticising the Chinese Ministry of State Security’s malicious cyber activities.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.