|
 The comments from Clapper, the director of National Intelligence (DNI),
were first reported in The Wall Street Journal and marked the first
time the Obama administration has publicly accused Beijing of the
hacking attacks on the Office of Personnel Management.
"You have to kind of salute the Chinese for what they did," given
the difficulty of the intrusion, the Journal quoted Clapper as
saying at a Washington intelligence conference.
In a statement, Clapper's office confirmed that he had identified
China as a leading suspect, although it said the U.S. government
investigation was ongoing.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he found
it strange that the United States says it is both still probing the
hack and also believes China is to blame.
"This is an absurd logic," he told reporters.
U.S. officials have previously blamed the attacks on Chinese
hackers, though not publicly. White House spokesman Josh Earnest on
Thursday declined to comment on any potential suspects.
OPM Director Katherine Archuleta told the Senate Homeland Security
Committee that personnel data of 4.2 million current and former
federal employees was compromised in one security breach and that
another attack, targeting those applying for security clearances,
had affected millions more.
Some media have reported that as many as 18 million Americans could
have been affected.
Clapper's comments came a day after the conclusion of three days of
high-level talks between China and the United States in Washington
at which cybersecurity figured prominently.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday there had been
no U.S. "finger-pointing" during those meetings about cybertheft
"and whether or not it was actioned by government, or whether it was
hackers, or individuals the government has the ability to
prosecute."
Kerry also said, however, the U.S. side had made "crystal clear"
that cybertheft was not acceptable. He said the United States
believed there was a need to work with China to develop a "code of
conduct" on state behavior in cyberspace and that China had agreed.
[to top of second column] |
"It's something that we agreed needs to be addressed and hopefully
it can be addressed soon," State Department spokesman John Kirby
said on Thursday.
White House spokesman Earnest cautioned against guessing at what
response the United States might take against those responsible for
the attacks. "If there is a response, it's probably not one we are
likely to telegraph in advance," he said.
The Journal cited Clapper as saying the U.S. government and American
companies would continue to be targets until policymakers addressed
the "lack of deterrents."
Clapper said the absence of a U.S. threat to respond to hacking
attacks meant Washington had to put its focus instead on defense,
the newspaper reported.
China has dismissed as "irresponsible and unscientific" any
suggestion that it was behind the hacking. China's top diplomat,
State Councillor Yang Jiechi, said after Wednesday's talks that the
two countries should work together on cybersecurity.
(Reporting by Timothy Ahmann, Mark Hosenball, Emily Stephenson,
Megan Cassella and David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Ben
Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Susan Heavey and Clarence
Fernandez)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
