Chinese hackers carry out most attacks on US computers: Congressman

Chinese government and freelance hackers are the primary culprits behind as many as several hundred daily attacks against the US government, electric-utility and financial computer networks, a senior US congressman has said.

"Sophisticated hackers could really wreak havoc on our financial systems if they were successful," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told Bloomberg in an interview. The threat is "primarily from China".

While cyber plots to disrupt US computer networks have been thwarted, significant vulnerabilities exist, said Thompson.

Many of these problems will be detailed in a 60-day review the Obama administration will be conducting on government cyber-security efforts. US President Barack Obama has also said he would appoint a computer-security chief who will report directly to him.

Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the US, denied that the Chinese government was attacking US computer systems.

"Allegations that the Chinese government is behind cyber attacks against the US computer networks are totally unwarranted and misleading for the America public," Wang said in an e-mail.

Wang said the Chinese government was "cracking down" on computer hacking and other cyber crimes.