China’s Ministry of State Security announced it has discovered “irrefutable evidence” of a cyberattack on the National Time Service Center, the agency responsible for maintaining Beijing’s standard time.
The agency claimed that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was behind the operation. The center is responsible for ensuring accurate time for the country’s communications, financial services, and other critical systems.
According to the Ministry , the operation began in 2022. The attackers allegedly exploited a vulnerability in a foreign brand’s smartphone messaging service and gained access to employees’ phones, including their data. In 2023 and 2024, the attackers allegedly used dozens of cyber weapons, accessed the center’s internal networks using stolen credentials, and attempted to access the ground-based high-precision time synchronization system.
Authorities warned that interference with the reference time could cause communications disruptions, disruptions to financial systems and power grids, transportation problems, and risks to space launches. The U.S. Embassy did not respond to requests for comment, according to media reports.
The National Time Service Center is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chinese sources have already emphasized the importance of developing a high-precision ground-based time synchronization system and integrating it with satellite and orbital experiments necessary for science and industry. This explains why any attack on the time infrastructure is perceived as a threat to various industrial sectors.
The cyberespionage accusations are part of an ongoing exchange of accusations between Beijing and Washington.
In recent years, China has published investigations into attacks linked to US intelligence agencies. At the time of publication, these new allegations could not be independently confirmed.
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