Cyberwarfare in China The nature of cyberwarfare in the People ' s Republic of China is difficult to assess . Government officials in India and the United States have traced various attacks on corporate and infrastructure computer systems in their countries to computers in the People ' s Republic of China . However , " It is nearly impossible to know whether or not an attack is government - sponsored because of the difficulty in tracking true identities in cyberspace . " China has denied accusations of cyberwarfare , and has accused the United States of engaging in cyberwarfare against it , which the US government denies . A number of private computer security firms have stated that they have growing evidence of cyber - espionage efforts originating from China , including the " Comment Group " . According to the United States NSA secret service whistleblower Edward Snowden , the U . S . government has organized hacker attacks on Chinese universities , businesses and politicians since 2009 . Chinese targets of the US hacker attacks included hundreds of organizations and individuals , like the Chinese University of Hong Kong , and were among the 61 , 000 of hacker attacks carried out by the United States globally . Organization . Washington , D . C . - based analyst James Mulvenon says that the organization of Chinese operations in cyberwarfare is very clandestine and decentralised , organized around a constantly changing hybrid of official , civilian , and semi - civilian groups . Nationalist groups , he says , such as " patriotic hacker associations " , are often used as " foot soldiers " or " proxies " . While China has long been suspected of cyber spying , on May 24 , 2011 the People ' s Liberation Army announced the existence of their cyber security squad . By nation . Australia . In May 2013 , ABC News claimed that the People ' s Republic of China hacked plans for the headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation . Canada . Officials in the Canadian government claim that Chinese hackers have comprised several departments within the federal government in early 2011 , though the Chinese government has refused involvement . India . Officials in the Indian government have alleged that attacks on Indian government networks , such as that of the Indian National Security Council , have originated in China . According to the government , Chinese hackers are experts in operating up botnet s . Fears of Chinese cyberespionage have resulted in the blocking of deals with Chinese telecoms , like Huawei , due to their ties with the Chinese military . United States . The United States has accused the People ' s Republic of China of implementing cyberwarfare and cyberespionage against American interests , accessing the networks of important military , commercial , research , and industrial organisations . A Congress advisory group has declared China " the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies " and that " there has been a marked increase in cyber intrusions originating in China and targeting U . S . government and defense - related computer systems " . According to the " Washington Post " , China allegedly manipulates security exploits existing in websites , sending out hijacked email attachments with malicious software . Intrusion is especially worrying since the intruder can control the hijacked computer from a remote location , with the ability to steal important files , monitor the user ' s activity , and read the user ' s email . Users are typically unaware that they are being spied ; the infected attachment is disguised as a mundane topic from a familiar contact , fooling the user into unwittingly setting off a program that silently infects the person ' s computer . Traces of the malware are hidden by rootkits , which prevent the person from being aware that data is being stolen . In January 2010 , Google reported on targeted attacks on its corporate infrastructure originating from China " that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google " . Apparently , the Gmail accounts of two human rights activists were compromised in the raid on Google ' s password system . American security experts connected the Google attack to various other political and corporate espionage efforts originating from China , including espionage against military , commercial , research , and industrial corporations . Obama administration officials have called the cyberattacks " an increasingly serious cyber threat to US critical industries " . In addition to Google , at least 34 companies have been attacked . Reported cases include Northrop Grumman , Symantec , Yahoo , Dow Chemical , and Adobe Systems . Cyberespionage has been aimed at both commercial and military interests , especially areas in which China lags . Technology companies have claimed that China has sought out source code , along with general information on weapon systems , to develop the software that China needs in both its economic and military pursuits . The source code was stolen using vulnerabilities found in Adobe Reader , which the hackers used to spread malicious software . Chinese cyberattacks have emphasised what senior US Government officials have said is an increasingly serious cyber threat to US critical industries . China has denied accusations of cyberwarfare , and has accused the United States of engaging in cyberwarfare against it , accusations which the United States denies . Wang Baodong of the Chinese Embassy in the United States responded that the accusations are a result of sinophobic paranoia . He states that , " China would never do anything to harm sovereignty or security of other countries . In conformity with such national policies , the Chinese government has never employed , nor will it employ so - called civilian hackers in collecting information or intelligence of other countries . Allegations against China in this respect are totally unwarranted , which only reflect the dark mentality of certain people who always regard China as a threat . " Diplomatic cables highlight US concerns that China is using access to Microsoft source code and ' harvesting the talents of its private sector ' to boost its offensive and defensive capabilities . As of March 2013 , high level discussions continued . Stuxnet . Although the vast majority of experts have concluded that the Stuxnet virus targeting Iran originated from Israel , which is known to engage in cyberwarfare , American cyberwarfare expert Jeffrey Carr has implicated China as one of the possible states where Stuxnet could have originated . His rationale is that the countries Stuxnet targeted happened to be rich in resources such as copper , gold , and iron ore , that are especially important for China in a period of high economic growth . However , China has also been a victim of the Stuxnet virus . The virus has reportedly infected millions of computers in the nation , wreaking much havoc , because the virus can control industrial machinery . IP hijacking . In late November 2010 , a U . S . Defense Department spokesman said the department was aware that Internet traffic was rerouted briefly through China earlier in the year . The United States - China Economic and Security Review Commission charged in its annual report that state - owned China Telecom advertised erroneous network routes that instructed " massive volumes " of U . S . and other foreign Internet traffic to go through Chinese servers during an 18 - minute stretch on April 8 . China ' s Foreign Ministry condemned the commission ' s report , while China Telecom separately denied the charge that it " hijacked " U . S . Internet traffic .