Inside Story

How will China face hacking accusations?

The US and a number of its Western allies blame China for an alleged cyberattack.

In a unified condemnation of China regarding cyberattacks, the United States, the European Union, NATO and other world powers all said Beijing was responsible for an attack on Microsoft servers earlier this year.

But the allies stopped short of announcing punishment measures for the alleged cyberactivities.

About a quarter of a million computers are said to have been compromised in March, affecting at least 30,000 organisations worldwide.

Nations including Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan said Chinese state-linked hacking groups were behind the exploitation.

Beijing says the accusation is groundless.

What is the fallout from this dispute?

Presenter: Sohail Rahman

Guests:

Brett Bruen – president of the Global Situation Room and a former director of global engagement at the White House

James Shires – assistant professor at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University

Einar Tangen – China political analyst