China has accused Germany of making groundless accusations against it about a “so-called cyber intrusion”.
Its embassy in Germany said late on Wednesday: “China firmly opposes the manipulation of cybersecurity issues and hyped up so-called China-related cyber threats.”
Earlier in the day the Germans had accused China of being behind a 2021 cyberattack on the federal cartography agency for espionage purposes and summoned Beijing’s ambassador to lodge a complaint.
“We call on China to refrain from and prevent such cyberattacks,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.
The German government attributed responsibility for the cyberattack to Chinese state actors based on information from its intelligence services, the interior ministry said.
The ministry also strongly condemned the attack, in which the hackers compromised the end devices of private individuals and companies.
Germany is the latest country to accuse China of cyber-espionage, joining the United States, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Philippines and New Zealand – accusations that Beijing denies.
The Chinese embassy said: “Germany has publicly made groundless accusations against China on the grounds of the so-called cyber intrusion into the Germany federal mapping office, which China has firmly rejected and lodged solemn representations with the German side.
“China urges Germany to stop engaging in anti-China political manipulation and public opinion smears under the pretext of cybersecurity issues.”
