US-based hackers target China websites

Chinas military Thursday said overseas computer hackers targeted two of its websites an average of 144,000 times per month last year,with almost two-thirds of the attacks originating in the United States.

The claim from Defence Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng follows accusations last week by American cybersecurity company Mandiant that Chinese military-backed cyberspies infiltrated overseas networks and stole massive amounts of data from US companies and other entities. China denied the allegations,and its military said it has never supported any hacking activity.

Geng told reporters at a news conference an average of 62.9 percent of attacks on the Defence Ministrys official website and its newspaper,the Peoples Liberation Army Daily,came from the US.