US Cybersecurity agency releases advisory warning of Chinese espionage campaign

US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is reported to have released an advisory regarding the activities of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) as well as its associated agencies and contractors. As per reports, the move comes issued amid growing concerns about Chinese espionage campaign and recent ‘snooping’ reports pointing towards Chinese firms. 

According to reports, the tactics deployed by these Chinese firms are not new and utilizes already available exploits but the moves have nevertheless proved to be effective. The US Department of Justice on Wednesday, September 16 announced that it has charged five Chinese nationals and two Malaysian nationals for hacking dozens of US targets including telecom companies, universities, pro-democracy activists and politicians.

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TikTok row

Last month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would prohibit TikTok and other Chinese apps like WeChat from functioning in the US. For TikTok to continue function in the US, the parent company needs to sell its US operations to an American buyer in 45 days from the date of signing. However, the row over the popular short video making app's sale in the US continues.

As there were reports of Oracle inching closer to a deal with TikTok, Trump on Wednesday raised apprehensions about TikTok's parent company ByteDance keeping majority stakes in the US operation of the app. While addressing media, Trump said he was not ready to approve the proposal that would make the Chinese company keep the majority stakes in the US operations.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Chinese apps such as TikTok and WeChat are security risks as they allegedly share private user data with Beijing. This line of argument has been followed by other US government agencies as well. The US Senate has even passed a bill stating that federal employees are prohibited from using TikTok on government-issued devices.

Read: Trump Not Ready To Approve Oracle-TikTok Deal As Majority Stake Lies With Chinese Company

Read: Trump Says Oracle 'very Close To A Deal' Over ByteDance’s TikTok

(With ANI Inputs)