China Should Speak Out About Hacker Attacks, Global Times Says

China should encourage people and groups attacked by U.S.-based hackers to speak up about what happened to them, the state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial today.

China’s responses so far to accusations that hacker attacks on the U.S. originated within its borders have been limited to officials, the newspaper said. The government should encourage society to fight back, it said.

The editorial appeared a day after U.S. security firm Mandiant Corp. released a report saying China’s army may be behind a computer-hacking group that has attacked at least 141 companies worldwide since 2006.

China should have technical departments rebut the accusations, the Global Times said. Speaking at a briefing yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China opposes hacking and is itself a victim of such actions. The Ministry of Defense said in a fax to Bloomberg News that it’s “inaccurate and unprofessional to accuse the Chinese military of Internet attacks.”

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Henry Sanderson in Beijing at hsanderson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net