China accused the US National Security Agency of infiltrating its National Time Service Center, warning that any disruption could ripple through communications, finance and power systems. Officials said investigators traced stolen credentials to 2022 and alleged follow-on attempts against key timing infrastructure in 2023 and 2024.

What Beijing Says Happened

China’s Ministry of State Security said a long-running operation targeted staff devices by exploiting a vulnerability in the messaging service of a foreign smartphone brand in 2022, allowing access to sensitive data and internal networks. It further claimed the US used “42 types of special cyberattack weapons” and tried to infiltrate a high-precision, ground-based timing system through 2024.

Why the Time Centre Matters

The National Time Service Center, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Xi’an, generates, maintains and broadcasts the national standard time that underpins communications, finance, power, transport and defence services. Beijing said it issued risk-removal guidance after the probe, underscoring that tampering with time signals can cascade into systemic outages across networks.

The Response And Wider Context

China’s statement argued the US “accuses others of what it does itself,” as the two powers trade hacking allegations amid tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan; the US embassy did not immediately respond. Western governments, meanwhile, have also accused China-linked groups of wide-ranging intrusions, keeping cybersecurity at the centre of a fraught relationship.