Tokyo, Aug 8 (EFE).- Japan said on Tuesday that it could not confirm any leakage of military secrets, just hours after a media report claimed that hackers linked to China had repeatedly breached Tokyo’s cybersecurity systems.
Government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that authorities were “aware of the reports” published by The Washington Post.
However, he refrained from divulging more details, stating, “Due to the nature of the matter, I am unable to provide further details of the communication.”
“We haven’t confirmed the fact that security information has been leaked due to cyber attacks.”
The Washington Post said the National Security Agency of the United States discovered in 2020 that Chinese military hackers had compromised classified defense networks of Washington’s “most important strategic ally in East Asia.”
The newspaper said cyberspies from the Chinese army had wormed their way into Japan’s most sensitive computer systems.
Citing unnamed Japanese and American military sources, the newspaper said the hackers “had deep, persistent access, and appeared to be after anything they could get their hands on — plans, capabilities, assessments of military shortcomings.”
Some US officials reportedly visited Japan on several occasions during the archipelago’s border closure due to the pandemic to help resolve the issue, according to the newspaper.
The Japanese government spokesperson dispeled any doubts about cooperation between Tokyo and Washington.
“Cybersecurity is the foundation for maintaining and strengthening the alliance between Japan and the United States, and we will continue to work firmly on it.”
He noted that Tokyo would continue to urge Beijing “to act responsibly” while working to build “constructive and stable relations” with the neighboring country.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada addressed these reports in another presser.
He said no cyberattack had affected Japanese defense abilities. EFE
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