China Calls For Int'l Efforts To Counter 'Biggest' Cybersecutiry Threat Posed By US

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2021) Beijing has called on the international community to join efforts to counter the actions of the United States, which threaten global cybersecurity and violate international rules, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.

Last week, microsoft Corporate Vice President Tom Burt told the US Congress that US law enforcement agencies had issued from 2,400 to 3,500 confidentiality orders over the past five years to access the company's user data without effective supervision by US courts.

"We are calling on the international community to jointly expose and confront US actions that threaten global cybersecurity and violate international rules," Wang told a daily briefing.

The diplomat accused Washington of abusing its advanced technical capabilities to spy on residents of the United States and other countries, stealing various data and violating confidentiality.

"The facts have repeatedly proved that it is the United States that forces companies to open 'back doors' and obtain user data by violating the rules.

The United States is the biggest threat to global cybersecurity," Wand said.

The spokesman recalled the case of American whistleblower Edward Snowden and the recently-revealed results of a European media investigation which established that US intelligence was spying on high-ranking officials of its NATO allies through undersea cables.

Under the guise of cyberdefense, the US puts pressure on companies in other countries, trying to oust competitors and maintain its hegemony on the internet, the Chinese diplomat argued.

Earlier in the day, China's cybersecurity regulator announced the start of data-security reviews of apps operated by Chinese companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The announcement came days after a similar probe was opened into Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing amid rumors that it was sharing Chinese user data with Washington after being listed on the NYSE.