U.S. Embassy Alleges Chinese Hackers Targeted Guatemala's Foreign Ministry, Government Calls It an Old Incident
On Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala claimed that China-based espionage groups had infiltrated the computer systems of Guatemala’s foreign ministry. However, Guatemalan officials downplayed the claim, stating the incident was not recent.
In a post on X, the embassy reported that the cyber intrusion was uncovered during a security inspection jointly conducted by the Guatemalan government and the U.S. Southern Command. Over the weekend, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo participated in a cybersecurity drill alongside U.S. embassy and Taiwanese officials. During the event, he acknowledged Guatemala is facing "active threats" and noted that these exercises had revealed "hostile attempts by hacker groups based in the People's Republic of China" to breach the country’s cyber infrastructure.
In response, the foreign ministry issued a statement clarifying that the reported breach referred to an incident from September 2022 and emphasized that no recent hacking attempts had occurred.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Panama, where he echoed concerns about China’s regional activities. Referring to the Panama Canal, former President Donald Trump had falsely claimed that China controls it. Hegseth reinforced Washington's stance by describing China as a “malign influence” in the region.
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