Police in Harbin city have claimed that three agents from the US National Security Agency, NSA, carried out “advanced” cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February.
They alleged that the targets were essential industries.
The police have now added the three NSA agents to a wanted list, while also accusing the University of California and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University of being involved in the attacks after conducting investigations, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.
It, however, did not specify how the two American universities were involved.
This development comes as the world’s two largest economies engage in a trade war.
The report, citing the Harbin city public security bureau, claimed the US NSA launched cyberattacks “against important industries such as energy, transportation, water conservancy, communications, and national defence research institutions in Heilongjiang province.”
It added that the attacks were intended to “sabotage China’s critical information infrastructure, cause social disorder, and steal important confidential information.”
Xinhua said the NSA operations were “suspected of activating specific pre-installed backdoors” in Microsoft Windows operating systems on certain devices in Heilongjiang.