America’s National Security Agency (NSA) should accept partial blame for the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack which has infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries, according to Chinese state media.
A Wednesday editorial in the China Daily said that the NSA should « shoulder some of the blame, because the computer virus is based on one of the hacking tools that the agency created for its own use, which ended up in the hands of cyber criminals. »
It notes the severity of the issue, stressing that even an agency « tasked with protecting citizens from cyberattacks » was left vulnerable to hackers.
The attack, which targets vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp MSFT. O systems, did indeed use a tool built by the NSA which leaked online in April, according to Microsoft.
The editorial goes on to accuse the US of acting as a roadblock to efforts aimed at combating cybercrime.
« Concerted efforts to tackle cyber crimes have been hindered by the actions of the United States, » it states.
The article stresses that cybersecurity has been « one of the major frictions » in relations between Washington and Beijing, with the US often « pointing an accusing finger » at China by claiming it is engaged in « state-sponsored cyber espionage. »
It says that although the US has « no credible evidence » to support that accusation, some Chinese companies – such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd – have still been effectively banned from the US market.
