China says it opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks

MANILA, Philippines – The Chinese government does not tolerate any form of cyberattacks and will not allow any country or individual to engage in such illegal activities using Chinese infrastructure, its embassy in the Philippines said.

It made the assurances after the Philippines on Monday said that hackers from China last month attempted to break into government websites, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s personal website, but failed.

Manila did not say the hackers were linked to any state, but said they were found to be using the services of Chinese state-owned company Unicom. Unicom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The Chinese government all along firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyber attack in accordance with law, allows no country or individual to engage in cyber attack and other illegal activities on Chinese soil or using Chinese infrastructure,” a spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in Manila said late on Monday, February 5.

The Philippines is currently working on a five-year cybersecurity strategy to beef up its cyber defenses. Its military last year announced it would create a cyber command. – Rappler.com