China’s defense minister yesterday denied that Beijing was behind Internet attacks on foreign targets and echoed US-British calls for international talks to toughen up cyber security.
“It is hard to attribute the real source of attacks and we need to work together to make sure that this security problem won’t be a problem,” Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie (梁光烈) told a security forum in Singapore.
“Actually, in China we have also suffered quite a wide range and frequency of cyber attacks,” he said. “The Chinese government also attaches importance to -cyber security and stands firmly against all kinds of cyber crimes.”
China has been accused by the US, Canada and other nations of spearheading online attacks on government agencies as well as companies, although the Beijing government has always denied this.
Last week, Internet giant Google said a cyber-spying campaign originating in China had targeted the Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.
The US said on Friday it had highlighted Google’s concerns with Beijing, but the Chinese government has described any suggestion that it was behind the attack as “unacceptable.”
“It is important for everyone to obey or follow laws and regulations in terms of cyber security,” said Liang, who joined calls for global coordination to deal with the issue.
Addressing the same forum in Singapore, the US and Britain appealed on Saturday for international cooperation against online threats following a fresh spate of attacks on government and corporate targets.
British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the UK would host an international conference on what he called the “war of the invisible enemy” later this year.
The talks in London will include discussions on a potential legal framework, he said.
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