Thursday 18 July 2013

Hong Kong still waiting for US reply on Snowden hacking allegations

Hong Kong is still waiting for a reply from the United States on claims made by whistle-blower Edward Snowden that US agencies had hacked into the city’s computers, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok told legislators on Thursday.

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Guanyu said...

Hong Kong still waiting for US reply on Snowden hacking allegations, says security chief

Lai Ying-kit
18 July 2013

Hong Kong is still waiting for a reply from the United States on claims made by whistle-blower Edward Snowden that US agencies had hacked into the city’s computers, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok told legislators on Thursday.

Lai was speaking at a Legislative Council meeting to discuss the revelations made last month by American whistle-blower and ex-CIA worker Edward Snowden.

“The Security Bureau wrote to the US on June 22 to seek an explanation. We are looking forward to a comprehensive and thorough clarification for Hongkongers as soon as possible,” Lai said in an opening speech.

Lai said that with regard to the Snowdon case, his allegations of US hacking into Hong Kong’s computer systems was the top concern of the city’s lawmakers and people.

He also said the city had facilities to guard against cyberattacks and had invested in the research and development of new internet security technology.

Snowden told the South China Morning Post in mid-June – soon after fleeing his home country – that Washington had been hacking into mainland China and Hong Kong [1]computer systems for years. One target in the city, he said, was the hub for Hong Kong’s internet traffic located on the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s campus in Sha Tin.

Snowden, who is wanted by Washington for leaking details of the US intelligence surveillance programmes, is now seeking temporary asylum in Russia after spending more than three weeks in a Moscow airport transit lounge trying to find a country that would grant him asylum.