The Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an was purportedly hacked by a US intelligence organisation, according to reports from China. The National Security Agency's (NSA) Office of Tailored Access Operations allegedly carried out cyberattacks on the university that offers programmes in aeronautics and space research, according to China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center. Over 10,000 cyberattacks by the NSA against Chinese targets are said to have been launched in recent years, copying 140 terabytes of data.
According to a Bloomberg story, a team from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and 360 Security Technology examined the university's computer systems after the foreign attack was revealed in June. They apparently determined that the NSA's Tailored Access Operations were responsible for the university's cyberattack.
The team claimed that in recent years, the NSA carried out more than 10,000 "vicious" assaults against Chinese targets, stealing more than 140 gigabytes of "high value" data.
In a statement issued in June by the Xi'an Police, it was said that the institution had discovered phishing emails that constituted a "severe security danger" to important databases.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is associated with Northwestern Polytechnical University. It offers research programmes in maritime technology engineering, astronautics, and aeronautics.
Beijing and Washington have both been charged with carrying out cyber espionage. Cybersecurity company Pangu Lab, based in Beijing, said in February of this year that it had found US-sponsored hacking activity in China.
