Xinhua: Mandiant report a PR stunt

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BEIJING, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Claims that there may be ties between cyberattacks on U.S. networks and China's military are full of loopholes, states China's official news agency.

U.S. cybersecurity company Mandiant published a report Monday saying there were signs the Chinese military was linked to computer crime targeted at U.S. technology.

Beijing denies the allegations, saying this week its networks have also been targeted.

A commentary from the official Xinhua news agency states Mandiant's claims were overblown.

"It is beyond belief that a firm specialized in the field of cybersecurity could be so indiscreetly desperate as to jump to a conclusion so full of loopholes, unless it has a good reason," the commentary reads.

Xinhua's commentary says Mandiant's report was a publicity stunt meant to draw more business.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that Washington was taking aim at attempts to steal intellectual property through cybercrime. Some of those attacks may be state-sponsored, Washington warned.

Holder noted that a federal court in Indian sentenced a Chinese man to more than seven years in prison for conducting "economic espionage" for a foreign university tied to Beijing.

"A hacker in China can acquire source code from a software company in Virginia without leaving his or her desk," he said in a statement.