China Says U.S. Hacked University With 'Drinking Tea' Cyber-Sniffing Weapon

ED BROWNE 

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Chinese cybersecurity experts have accused the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) of launching cyberattacks on a university in northwest China with a malware program known as "drinking tea."

The alleged cyberattacks were said to have targeted the Northwestern Polytechnical University in China's Shaanxi Province—an institution known for aerospace and navigation research.

Specifically, the NSA group accused of carrying out the attacks is the Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO), which is the NSA's cyber-warfare and intelligence-gathering unit.

A stock image depicts a Chinese flag overlaid with digital illustrations. China has accused the U.S. of launching cyberattacks on a university.IGOR KUTYAEV/GETTY

The cyberattacks were announced by the university in June after emails were sent to students and teachers that contained malicious software intended to steal their personal data.

The emails reportedly contained Trojan horse programs, which appear to be normal computer programs but are actually intended to compromise the system once downloaded or run.

Investigations were launched by China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center alongside other cybersecurity groups, according to state news outlet Global Times, which cited an unnamed source.

Global Times reports that deeper analysis revealed that one of the malicious programs used in the attacks was known as "drinking tea", which can steal information such as account passwords and transfer files remotely. The program is difficult to find since it disguises itself as a normal background process.

The cybersecurity experts accused TAO of erasing system logs to avoid tracking, controlling the monitoring system of infrastructure operators, and collecting data on people with sensitive identities and sending this data back to the U.S.

Global Times reported that no cyberattacks were launched on Saturdays or Sundays or on major American holidays.

The NSA declined to comment on the reports when contacted by Newsweek.

China often accuses the U.S. of carrying out cyber-attacks. In February, the Beijing-based Qi An Pangu cybersecurity lab, which also assisted in the TAO investigation, reported that the NSA had been engaged in decade-long cyberattacks against 45 countries including U.S. allies such as the U.K.