BEIJING (CHINA) – A US company that keeps track of hacking said on Wednesday hackers connected to the Chinese government infiltrated the Vatican’s networks, including that of the Roman Catholic Church’s Hong Kong-based representative.
According to the firm, the attacks began in May. The Vatican and China were expected to begin discussions this year over renewing a major pact stabilising ties between both sides.
Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said the attacks targeted the Vatican and the Diocese of Hong Kong, including the head of the Hong Kong Study Mission, who is the de-facto representative of the pope to China.
Hackers accessed the communication between the diocese and the Vatican using tools tools and methods identified with Chinese state-backed hacking groups.
However, Beijing foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a briefing that China staunchly defends cybersecurity, adding that ample evidence rather than conjecture was needed in probing cyber crimes.
China denies links with any state-backed hackers, saying Beijing itself is the victim of such attacks.
Earlier this year in Germany, the Vatican foreign minister and Chinese officials held a meeting, the first encounter between both sides in decades.
With ties between both sides improving, China and the Vatican were expected to renew the two-year pact on the functioning of the Church in the country this September.
A Chinese delegation was due to visit the Vatican for talks, but the pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field