- China accuses the U.S. National Security Agency of long-term cyberattacks on its national time center.
- Chinese officials say the attacks targeted the country’s precision timing systems used in power, finance, and defense sectors.
- Authorities claim U.S. hackers used advanced “zero-day” vulnerabilities to infiltrate critical networks.
- Beijing says evidence links the NSA to multiple cyberespionage campaigns between 2022 and 2024.
Beijing, China — China’s Ministry of State Security has accused the United States of orchestrating a series of sophisticated cyberattacks against its National Time Service Center, a facility responsible for generating and maintaining the country’s standard time. Officials warned that the alleged U.S. cyber operations posed serious risks to national security and critical infrastructure across sectors including energy, finance, defense, and communications.
In a statement released Sunday, the ministry said investigators had traced the attacks to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), describing the incidents as “long-term, highly covert, and employing state-level cyberespionage tools.” The attacks, according to Chinese authorities, were capable of disrupting the precise timing systems that underpin essential operations in industries from telecommunications and transportation to the stock market and space navigation.
The National Time Service Center, located in Xi’an and affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, plays a vital role in distributing precise time signals nationwide. Its systems help synchronize everything from digital banking transactions and satellite communication networks to power grid operations and military defense coordination.
According to the ministry, the cyber intrusions began in March 2022, when NSA-linked hackers allegedly exploited a previously unknown software flaw to take control of mobile phones used by staff at the time center. The attackers reportedly used the breach to extract sensitive credentials and operational data.
By April 2023, the ministry said the same group used the stolen passwords to infiltrate the center’s internal computer systems and study its network architecture. The statement claimed the attacks intensified between August 2023 and June 2024, during which the NSA allegedly deployed a new cyberwarfare platform using “42 specialized cyber weapons” to target China’s precision timing infrastructure.
Beijing’s cybersecurity teams said they uncovered that the U.S. hackers had attempted to compromise China’s high-precision ground-based timing system, a move officials suggested could have been intended to prepare for future disruption or sabotage.
The ministry said Chinese state security agencies discovered evidence of the attacks and guided the National Time Service Center in “cutting off attack chains” and upgrading digital defense protocols to prevent further breaches.
Investigators also claimed that most of the attacks occurred late at night or during early morning hours Beijing time. The hackers allegedly used a network of “springboard” virtual servers located across the U.S., Europe, and Asia to conceal their tracks, along with encrypted traffic to avoid detection.
Li Jianhua, director of the National Engineering Laboratory for Information Content Analysis Technology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told state broadcaster CCTV that U.S. intelligence agencies often rely on foreign-based proxy servers during infiltration operations.
“This type of cyberattack is considered a classic form of state-level cyber aggression, internationally referred to as an advanced persistent threat,” Li said. “Its objectives include infiltrating, monitoring, disrupting or even destroying key infrastructure in other countries – posing a severe threat to any nation.”
Li added that the NSA’s use of “zero-day vulnerabilities” previously unknown software flaws allowed the agency to evade conventional intrusion detection systems within critical networks.
Wei Dong, a senior official at the National Time Service Center, underscored how precision timing is crucial for the stability of modern economies and defense systems. Even minute timing discrepancies, he said, can have massive consequences.
“If timing was a millisecond off it could cause a chain reaction of failures at power substations, leading to widespread blackouts,” Wei said.
“If timing was a microsecond off it could trigger fluctuations to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars on international stock markets.”
“If timing were out by a nanosecond it would throw off the BeiDou satellite navigation system by 30cm (11.8 inches) and disrupt mobile phone and internet services.”
“Even a picosecond off could result in a lunar spacecraft’s position being miscalculated by several kilometres.”
Cybersecurity analysts said China’s claims, if verified, reflect the growing sophistication of global cyberwarfare. The alleged breaches highlight the fragility of interconnected systems that rely on synchronized digital clocks for everything from 5G communications and AI data processing to financial trading algorithms and space navigation.
The U.S. National Security Agency and other American officials have not yet issued a public statement in response to Beijing’s allegations. The U.S. government has routinely denied engaging in unlawful cyber operations, maintaining that its intelligence activities are conducted in line with legal frameworks and national security objectives.
China’s accusations mark the latest flashpoint in an increasingly tense landscape of digital espionage between the world’s two largest economies. Both nations have repeatedly accused each other of state-backed hacking campaigns targeting sensitive infrastructure, government institutions, and private enterprises.
Analysts note that cybersecurity tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent years amid disputes over technology supply chains, semiconductor restrictions, and artificial intelligence competition. Experts warn that as both nations expand their quantum computing, cloud security, and defense technology capabilities, cyber conflicts could become a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics.
International cybersecurity experts say China’s allegations underline the urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation in cyber defense and data protection. State-sponsored hacking campaigns, whether by the U.S., China, or other major powers, risk destabilizing the global digital economy and critical infrastructure systems that depend on precise timing and network integrity.
The case also renews discussion around the global “cyber rules of engagement” — how nations should regulate digital warfare, data breaches, and the use of offensive cyber tools. As critical systems such as satellite communication, cloud storage, and smart grids become more interconnected, experts warn that the consequences of state-level cyberattacks could extend far beyond national borders.
For now, Beijing says it has fortified the National Time Service Center’s defenses and will continue monitoring foreign cyber activities targeting its infrastructure.
