Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng told reporters that “overseas hackers” have been attacking its websites an average of 144,000 times per month since last year, with almost two-thirds of the attacks originating in the US.
An average of 62.9% of the attacks on the Defense Ministry's official website and that of its newspaper, the People's Liberation Army Daily, came from the US, Geng maintained.
The stats come in the wake of not only the hacking revelations at the New York Times, Facebook, Apple, Wall Street Journal and others, but also the overnight cyber-celebrity of the Mandiant Report. Researchers at that security firm said the People's Liberation Army has “systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations, and has demonstrated the capability and intent to steal from dozens of organizations simultaneously.”
Geng called the report "unprofessional and not in accordance with the facts." He also added that "Like other countries, China faces a serious threat from hacking and is one of the primary victims of hacking in the world. Numbers of attacks have been on the rise in recent years."
The Chinese have also denied involvement in the media hacks, even though forensics seem to show otherwise. "It is irresponsible to make such an allegation without solid proof and evidence," Geng said. "The Chinese government prohibits cyberattacks and has done what it can to combat such activities in accordance with Chinese laws."