China has depicted Washington as the “biggest threat to global cybersecurity”, saying that Washington “knowingly abuses technology” for spying and a range of other purposes.
The United States is seeking to preserve “hegemony in cyberspace” under the false pretext of “national security”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on Friday, urging the US to “stop its global hacking operations.”
The development came after US President Joe Biden issued a new executive order, purportedly limiting the use of spyware by the American government. Signing the order late last month, Biden banned the use of commercial spyware like Pegasus and Predator, but left ample room for the US to keep using hacking technologies of all sorts.
Hitting back at the US move, Ning said that the recent White House order to crack down on certain surveillance tech would not change the fact that Washington is the “biggest threat” to global cyber-security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping accused Western countries led by America of implementing an all inclusive "containment, encirclement and suppression" of China.
US agencies have targeted foreign states and companies “under the pretexts of national security and human rights without any evidence,” she said, adding that “the US government, in an attempt to maintain its hegemony in cyberspace, knowingly abuses technology for cyber surveillance and theft of secrets.”
Earlier this week, a report in the New York Times revealed that the White House signed a “secret contract” with the Israeli cyber surveillance firm NSO Group through a front company in 2021.
The contract allowed officials to use NSO Group’s ‘Landmark’ geolocation tool to covertly track “thousands” of phone users in Mexico.
The deal also “allows for Landmark to be used against mobile numbers in the United States.”
Despite language in the executive order urging federal agencies to stop employing tools that have been “misused” by governments abroad, the deal with NSO Group “still appears to be active,” the Times reported.
The Israeli firm has come under fire for collaborating with over a dozen foreign governments to target human rights activists, journalists, and lawyers using its powerful ‘Pegasus’ spyware program, including in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The New York Times said in a report last year that the FBI purchased access in 2019 to Pegasus, which invades mobile phones and mines their contents.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the treaty provides for various forms of bilateral cooperation.
The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran has entered into force, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"It is already binding," Jalali said when asked about the date of entry into force of the agreement, as well as whether Iran had notified Russia of the completion of internal procedures.
He recalled that the treaty was ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it. At the same time, the document was ratified by the Iranian parliament, approved by the Guardian Council, and the president issued it as a law.
"Therefore, in both countries it currently has the form of a law and, naturally, has entered into force," Jalali said.
On January 17, Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, met in Moscow to sign the Comprehensive Strategic ...
Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.
The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”
The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.
The participants described the drive as a coordinated effort to stop the Israeli atrocities.
Behind closed doors, ministers and envoys, meanwhile, engaged in intensive sessions aimed at drafting collective measures to pressure the regime -- steps expected to be unveiled by ...
