China rejects Dutch warning over cyberattacks
Chinese embassy calls Dutch accusations unfounded, while AIVD and MIVD base their warning on intelligence.
Follow-up to: Security services expect more Chinese cyber-attacks via firewalls Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 14:42
China has protested against a Dutch warning that Chinese hackers will increasingly target vulnerable network equipment in the coming years. The Chinese embassy in The Hague calls the accusations false and unfounded.
The Chinese embassy says that the Netherlands is once again smearing China with accusations over cyberattacks via so-called edge devices. These include devices such as firewalls, routers and VPN servers that connect organisations to the internet. According to the embassy, China itself is one of the main victims of cyberattacks and combats malicious digital activity.
On Wednesday, the Dutch AIVD and MIVD published a cyber advisory together with the National Cyber Security Centre. It says that the number of attacks via vulnerable edge devices could increase sharply in the coming years. The services say their assessment is based on knowledge and intelligence, but are not making the underlying information public.
According to the Dutch advisory, Chinese actors have in-depth knowledge of Western network equipment. They are said to look for vulnerabilities by studying products and sometimes obtaining source code. Because edge devices are often directly accessible from the internet, they can, according to the NCSC, provide a gateway into organisations.
The Chinese embassy not only disputes the Dutch conclusions, but also says that all countries should address cybersecurity through dialogue and cooperation. The statement contains no public technical analysis of the Dutch warning. As a result, it remains difficult for outsiders to establish which specific attacks or groups underpin the warning.
For Dutch companies and government bodies, the practical message therefore remains unchanged for now: network equipment must be updated, managed and monitored. Politically, however, the question remains how far governments should go in publicly attributing digital attacks. A firm attribution can deter other countries, but can also increase diplomatic tensions if the evidential basis remains secret.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The reciprocal statements were verified directly with AIVD, NCSC and the Chinese embassy. The technical threat is presented as an assessment by the Dutch services, not as an independently proven fact.
- confirmed AIVD, MIVD and NCSC warn of more Chinese attacks via edge devices. — This is stated in the Dutch cyber advisory. source
- confirmed China calls the Dutch accusations false and unfounded. — This is stated in the Chinese embassy's statement. source
- confirmed The Dutch services base the warning on intelligence. — AIVD and NCSC state this explicitly. source
- confirmed The underlying intelligence is not public. — The public advisory contains no operational evidence. source
Editor's note
The Dutch warning and the Chinese response have been confirmed. The specific intelligence on which the Dutch services base their warning is not public and therefore cannot be independently assessed.Sources
The story so far
- Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 14:42 Security services expect more Chinese cyber-attacks via firewalls
- Thursday, 8 October 2026, 06:36 China rejects Dutch warning over cyberattacks (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „cyberveiligheid china”
- NRC — „cyberveiligheid china”
- Tweakers — „cyberveiligheid china”