China’s Ministry of State Security accused the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) of launching cyberattacks against China’s National Time Service Center.

The allegations include the NSA exploiting vulnerabilities in messaging services of an unspecified foreign mobile phone brand to steal information from center staff devices in 2022.

The big picture: The U.S. agency allegedly used 42 different “special cyberattack weapons” targeting multiple internal networks of the time center. • Attempts were made between 2023 and 2024 to infiltrate a key timing system.

Why it matters: The National Time Service Center is responsible for generating and distributing China’s official standard time, which supports critical industries such as communications, finance, power, transportation, and defense.

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