China says it has been targeted in 500,000 cyberattacks

MALWARE ATTACKS: A man using a computer in Beijing. A Chinese monitoring agency says that a vast majority of cyberattacks aimed at computers in China were in the form of Trojan horse malware. - AP

BEIJING: Nearly 500,000 cyberattacks were aimed at computers in China last year and almost half originated overseas, the government said, following recent suggestions that Beijing may be behind long-term security attacks internationally.
The vast majority of the attacks a Chinese monitoring agency reported were in the form of Trojan horse malware that installs on computers, allowing them to monitor usage and access personal information.
Of those Trojan horse attacks, 14.7% of those were traced to IP addresses in the United States and 8% in India.
The findings were reported on the website of the National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Centre of China.
Computer security firm McAfee Inc reported in early August that cyberattacks lasting at least five years targeted more than 70 entities, including national governments.
Identified targets were the United Nations, the International Olympic Committee and many American companies.
McAfee said the culprit was most likely a nation state, and broad suspicion has fallen on China.
China has not responded officially but state media has said the speculation of a Chinese link was irresponsible. China has denied all charges of hacking in the past and said the country itself is a victim of hacking. - AP