New Allegations That China Spied on the AU Spark a Flashback to Similar Accusations in 2018

Reuters’ exclusive report that suspected Chinese hackers penetrated the African Union’s IT networks to siphon off data prompted many to think “uh oh, here we go again,” and recalling similar accusations back in 2018.

In 2018, the French newspaper Le Monde published a report that was also later confirmed by the Financial Times that Chinese entities had allegedly inserted so-called “back doors” on the AU’s computer network. For five years, according to those reports, massive data dumps took place at night, with countless files purportedly transferred from the AU HQ in Addis to servers located in Shanghai.

The timing of this latest allegation may be a bit awkward for the Chinese and the African Union in light of this week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, a division of the AU.

The new building will be financed and constructed by China which prompted the United States back in February to issue a warning that this would make it vulnerable to Chinese cyber spying: “It’s a threat to Africa. Africa has vast amounts of genomic data and the Chinese want to build the CDC to eventually steal the data from all the other centers,” a Trump administration official told the Financial Times, referring to five regional Africa CDC hubs, some of which were built by the United States.

In both 2018 and 2020 the Chinese government has vociferously rejected the accusation that it spies on the AU.

What Chinese and African Stakeholders Said About 2018 AU Spying Allegations

  • KUANG WEILIN, FORMER CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO THE AU: “I think the [Le Monde] report is not only a sensationalist story but also preposterous and absurd. Everyone at the AU is grateful for the building that China built. Maybe some people want to undermine this kind of relationship. I’m very suspicious of the intention.” (DEUTSCHE WELLE)
  • PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF RWANDA: “I would be happy if we had money to build this house, but even then, if you bring people to build for you, they may still spy on you.” (KT PRESS)

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The post New Allegations That China Spied on the AU Spark a Flashback to Similar Accusations in 2018 appeared first on The China Africa Project.



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