40.China denies launching cyber attack on US - People's Daily Online (2)

China denies launching cyber attack on US - People's Daily Online (2)

In an annual report on China's military power submitted to Congress on Aug. 17, the U.S. Department of Defense emphasized China's military threat, including allegations about online attacks on government Web sites, Xinhua.net reported on Tuesday.

"In 2009, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, continued to be the target of intrusions that appear to have originated within the [People's Republic of China]," the report read.

Hu Qiheng, president of the Internet Society of China, refuted the charge and said the report intended to "tarnish Chinese image and exaggerate China's threat" when attending the opening ceremony of the 2010 China Internet Conference, which kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday.

"I have never heard that China is developing forces for hacking and attacks, let alone that it has organized external hacking and attacks. Claims that the cyber attacks in other countries come from China are sheer nonsense," Hu said.

This is not the first time that the United States accused China of threatening its cyber security. A report titled "China, Cyber Espionage and U.S. National Security," issued by Medius Research in July, has accused China of attacking U.S. computer systems.

By Liang Jun, People's Daily Online