STORY: Details reveal truth about U.S. as empire of hackers
DATELINE: Aug. 6, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:46
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: POLITICS
 
SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SHAKEEL AHMAD RAMAY, CEO, Islamabad-based Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research & Development
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TUNC AKKOC, Head of Harici Media, Türkiye
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): TUGHRAL YAMIN, Senior research fellow at Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad
 
STORYLINE:
 
An investigation report has recently been released on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), one of the major intelligence agencies of the U.S. federal government, revealing an "empire of hackers" under U.S. manipulation.
 
Over a long period, the CIA has been secretly orchestrating "peaceful evolution" and "color revolutions" around the world, said the report by China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and internet security company 360.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SHAKEEL AHMAD RAMAY, CEO, Islamabad-based Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research & Development
"The U.S. itself is running the biggest surveillance systems."
 
China is one of the main targets of U.S. cyberattacks.
 
Last month, William Burns, the director of the U.S. CIA, revealed that the agency has been actively working to rebuild its spy networks in China and "has made some progress" in doing so.
 
In 2022, China's Northwestern Polytechnical University fell victim to a cyberattack from abroad.
 
All clues point to the Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO), a cyber-warfare intelligence-gathering unit affiliated to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), as the perpetrator.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): TUNC AKKOC, Head of Harici Media, Türkiye
"The complete control of the global internet system is one of the most crucial foundations of the United States' global leadership strategy. Even today, the United States generally maintains control over the worldwide data flow systems."
   
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of revelations by Edward Snowden, a former CIA contractor.
 
In 2013, Snowden walked out with a vast trove of secret documents, disclosing to the press details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by American intelligence.
 
And in April this year, a set of highly classified documents from the U.S. Pentagon were leaked online, in an apparent security breach that contained extensive top-secret data related to America's friends, including Ukraine, South Korea and Israel.
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): TUGHRAL YAMIN, Senior research fellow at Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad
"The Americans have always been carrying out espionage.
The Americans have been dabbling in surveillance of friends and foes and enemies, everybody. And this has been happening for a very, very long time.
It does show U.S. hegemony. The U.S. is a big hegemony.
And mighty powerful nations get away with whatever they're doing. There are no standards. There is no accountability."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)