A recent Pentagon report accusing Chinese hackers of targeting US weapons designs is “faulty” and undermines China’s capability of building its own weapons, the defense ministry has said.
The defense ministry dismissed the US paper of having “errors in judgement” after it claimed Chinese cyber attacks were part of a large-scale cyber spying campaign against top US defense contractors and government agencies, reports AFP.
According to the Defense Science Board report, China had employed cyber-attacks to access data from nearly 40 Pentagon weapons programs and almost 30 other defense technologies ranging from missile defense systems to the F-35 joint strike fighter.
“First, they underestimate the American Pentagon’s ability to protect its safety, and second, they underestimate the intelligence of the Chinese people,” Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng told The Associated Press.
“China is entirely capable of producing the weaponry needed for national defense,” Geng added.
Beijing announced that it will conduct its first “digital” combat exercise amid fears that Chinese cyberattacks could give them access to advanced technology and advantage over the US in the event of a conflict, reports AFP.