All news

Russian diplomat calls out US policy of militarizing cyberspace

As Maria Zakharova emphasized, the US aspires to bolster its global digital hegemony based on the use of force, and promote a "rules-based order" in ICT, yet Washington itself is not going to observe any rules

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. The US is behaving ever more obnoxiously in cyberspace, embarking on a course towards militarizing that area, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said commenting on the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) hacking attack against China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University at a briefing on Thursday.

"Washington’s illegitimate actions are just more evidence of the adopted course towards the militarization of cyberspace and information space in general. The intelligence services of the US and its allies systematically use information and communication technologies for tracking and stealing personal data, organizing computer attacks, and false flags as well, while relying on the technical capabilities of American companies that monopolize global ICT markets," she noted. "All of this has also a hybrid nature being spilled over into the information environment and the media environment, they are not hiding their intentions to make a profit, to ensure security at the expense of others and to conduct any subversive activity," the spokeswoman said.

As the diplomat emphasized, the US aspires to bolster its global digital hegemony based on the use of force, and promote a "rules-based order" in ICT, yet Washington itself is not going to observe any rules. "We intend to continue highlighting the US’ cyberpolicy, expose Western countries’ neocolonial plots, their aggressive, malevolent aspirations with regards to our country and developing countries, and, of course, the deceitful rhetoric on protecting peace and security in the information space that they use as their cover," the diplomat asserted.

As China’s Global Times reported earlier, Beijing holds the NSA responsible for a hacking attack against the Northwestern Polytechnical University which is engaged in aerospace and navigation research. According to the newspaper, in June, NSA employees sent phishing emails with Trojan horse programs to teachers and students at the university in an attempt to steal their data and personal information.