The US newspaper The Washington Post revealed on Wednesday that in late 2020, the Chinese military hacked Japan’s highly secretive and classified defence network. According to the report, the People’s Liberation Army cyberspies fell Japan’s most sensitive computer systems.
According to The Washington Post, three senior US officials have said that Chinese hackers had hacked Japan’s sensitive defence network by attacking it; it seems they could clear their hands on any plan and assess the military power from the army’s capability.
A US official reportedly said, “It was shockingly bad enough.” A former US military officer briefed by the authorities about the cyber attack recalled the incident.
China-Made Cyber Attack
According to the Washington Post, Japan is trying to strengthen its network. But they still cannot be considered safe enough from Beijing’s prying eyes. Officials say the incident could hinder greater intelligence sharing between the Pentagon and Beijing’s defence ministry.
The Washington Post report also states that the 2020 intrusion was so disturbing that the then US NSA Paul Nakasone and the US cybercrime chief Matthew Pottinger rushed to Tokyo and reported it to Japan’s defence ministry. The Minister was given, after which the Japanese Defense Minister, who was nervous, immediately issued an alert to the Prime Minister regarding this.
American officials said the incident shocked the Japanese and indicated they would closely monitor it.
Incident At The Time Of Biden’s Victory
According to a US official, when Japan’s defence system was hacked, Washington witnessed President Joe Biden’s victory. When the Biden administration took office, Japanese cyber security and defence officials realized Chinese infiltrators were still present in the network.
Since then, under US scrutiny, the Japanese have announced they are beefing up the security of their defence network, reports The Washington Post. Following this, Japan decided to increase its cyber security budget tenfold over the next five years and quadruple its military cyber security force to 4,000 people.
The report states that research conducted on Chinese attacks has shown that China sees Russia as a legitimate target for the theft of sensitive military technical information, not just the US or Japan. , While China calls Russia its deep friend.
The report provides new evidence of Chinese efforts to spy on Russia; China and Russia may have come together against the US, but China has stolen technology from Russia by infiltrating Russian networks.
