China Accuses U.S. of Long-Term Cyberattacks on National Time Agency

China’s Ministry of State Security has accused the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) of carrying out a series of long-term cyberattacks targeting the country’s National Time Service Centre (NTSC) an institution responsible for maintaining China’s official time standards.

According to the ministry, the attacks began in March 2022 and intensified between August 2023 and June 2024.

Chinese officials allege that the NSA used sophisticated cyberespionage tools and 42 specialized cyber weapons designed to infiltrate and disrupt NTSC’s internal systems.

The report claims the attacks were launched using virtual servers that appeared to be based in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, in an apparent attempt to conceal the true origin of the operations.

Located in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the NTSC provides precise time calibration used by key sectors including telecommunications, finance, energy, transportation, and defense. Even the smallest disruption could have widespread effects.

Wei Dong, an NTSC expert, explained: “If the national time were to shift by even one millisecond, it could cause major failures in power stations across the country.”

He added that even a nanosecond-level deviation could cause China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system to miscalculate positioning data by up to 30 centimeters.

Chinese cybersecurity experts described the alleged NSA operation as a high-level act of technological aggression, warning that such interference poses serious risks to national stability.

Beijing said it has gathered conclusive evidence of the cyberattacks and has since tightened digital defense and counterintelligence measures to prevent future incidents.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has not yet commented on the allegations.