Chinese diplomats on Wednesday rebutted the European Unions signal to Beijing that the bloc “cannot tolerate” cyberattacks on hospitals, as cybersecurity experts raised questions about evidence to back the claim.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Tuesday that she had told Chinese President Xi Jinping the EU has seen “cyberattacks in the past … on computing systems, on hospitals, and we know the origin of the cyberattacks.”
Von der Leyen added that she had “pointed out clearly that this cannot be tolerated.”
In response, Chinas representation to the European Union asked the bloc to present evidence for the claim.
“We have noticed the relevant comments by the EU side and have lodged representation. Those comments are completely unacceptable and we have asked the EU side to provide evidence,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union told POLITICO.
“We are firmly opposed to and are committed to tackling all forms of cyberattacks and cyber theft in accordance with law,” the spokesperson said, adding that “any cyberattack that may hinder the global response to the pandemic should be unequivocally condemned by all.”
The EUs suggestion of Chinese attacks on hospitals was among a range of issues that frustrate Brussels lawmakers as they sought to rebalance relations with Beijing at a virtual EU-China summit.
But the warning risks falling flat as the bloc struggled to explain what it meant.
The Commissions spokesperson Wednesday declined to detail the EUs evidence for that claim, saying it “does not divulge information on security incidents.”
The spokesperson reiterated earlier language that “since the beginning of the pandemic, significant phishing and malware distribution campaigns, scanning activities and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have been detected, some affecting critical infrastructures that are essential to managing this crisis.”
But these attacks were not linked to any foreign governments malicious intent when they were first flagged by the EUs foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell at end-April.
The spokesperson said von der Leyens message delivered to the Chinese president during Tuesdays high-level video conference “applies to everyone, no matter who is behind it.”
The incident has left analysts confused over what evidence the EU has on Chinese hacker groups targeting European hospitals and health care institutions during the pandemic.
“Its a pretty big statement without a lot of detail,” said Tyson Barker, analyst at the Aspen Institute Germany.
Barker said the Commission chiefs accusations opened up questions of “where the incidents occurred, and how much of her statement was coordinated with those national governments.”
Stefan Soesanto at the ETH Zurichs Center for Security Studies said the statement fits within the Commissions “strategy to depict China as a violator of international norms and international law,” but added the EU needed to be clearer about what kinds of cyberattacks it considered a violation of international norms and what role the Chinese government had in such attacks.
“The EU as a whole has to come together and find a clear definition of what they think are cyberattacks,” Soesanto said, calling for “a joint definition of what theyre talking about.”
The U.S., NATO, EU institutions and agencies, and several European countries have all called out cybercriminals and hacker groups in past weeks for launching attacks on hospitals, health care institutions, medical research institutes and organizations like the World Health Organization.
The attacks included so-called password spraying attacks and phishing attacks to infiltrate IT systems of hospitals and organizations, including in the Czech Republic, and DDoS in France that overloaded Read More – Source
Chinese diplomats on Wednesday rebutted the European Unions signal to Beijing that the bloc “cannot tolerate” cyberattacks on hospitals, as cybersecurity experts raised questions about evidence to back the claim.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Tuesday that she had told Chinese President Xi Jinping the EU has seen “cyberattacks in the past … on computing systems, on hospitals, and we know the origin of the cyberattacks.”
Von der Leyen added that she had “pointed out clearly that this cannot be tolerated.”
In response, Chinas representation to the European Union asked the bloc to present evidence for the claim.
“We have noticed the relevant comments by the EU side and have lodged representation. Those comments are completely unacceptable and we have asked the EU side to provide evidence,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union told POLITICO.
“We are firmly opposed to and are committed to tackling all forms of cyberattacks and cyber theft in accordance with law,” the spokesperson said, adding that “any cyberattack that may hinder the global response to the pandemic should be unequivocally condemned by all.”
The EUs suggestion of Chinese attacks on hospitals was among a range of issues that frustrate Brussels lawmakers as they sought to rebalance relations with Beijing at a virtual EU-China summit.
But the warning risks falling flat as the bloc struggled to explain what it meant.
The Commissions spokesperson Wednesday declined to detail the EUs evidence for that claim, saying it “does not divulge information on security incidents.”
The spokesperson reiterated earlier language that “since the beginning of the pandemic, significant phishing and malware distribution campaigns, scanning activities and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have been detected, some affecting critical infrastructures that are essential to managing this crisis.”
But these attacks were not linked to any foreign governments malicious intent when they were first flagged by the EUs foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell at end-April.
The spokesperson said von der Leyens message delivered to the Chinese president during Tuesdays high-level video conference “applies to everyone, no matter who is behind it.”
The incident has left analysts confused over what evidence the EU has on Chinese hacker groups targeting European hospitals and health care institutions during the pandemic.
“Its a pretty big statement without a lot of detail,” said Tyson Barker, analyst at the Aspen Institute Germany.
Barker said the Commission chiefs accusations opened up questions of “where the incidents occurred, and how much of her statement was coordinated with those national governments.”
Stefan Soesanto at the ETH Zurichs Center for Security Studies said the statement fits within the Commissions “strategy to depict China as a violator of international norms and international law,” but added the EU needed to be clearer about what kinds of cyberattacks it considered a violation of international norms and what role the Chinese government had in such attacks.
“The EU as a whole has to come together and find a clear definition of what they think are cyberattacks,” Soesanto said, calling for “a joint definition of what theyre talking about.”
The U.S., NATO, EU institutions and agencies, and several European countries have all called out cybercriminals and hacker groups in past weeks for launching attacks on hospitals, health care institutions, medical research institutes and organizations like the World Health Organization.
The attacks included so-called password spraying attacks and phishing attacks to infiltrate IT systems of hospitals and organizations, including in the Czech Republic, and DDoS in France that overloaded Read More – Source
