China denies role on US grid hacks

Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu as saying that any sort of involvement from China in the incident "doesn't exist at all."

The denial follows a report in the Wall Street Journal which claimed that agents from China and Russia along with several other countries had infiltrated the computer systems charged with managing electricity in the US and left behind software payloads which could be used to control or disable electric grids in the US.

Security experts warned that while the incident showed glaring holes in the US security infrastructure and that in a time of conflict such an attack could have catastrophic effects for the country.

"We hope that the concerned media will prudently deal with some groundless remarks, especially those concerning accusations against China," Jiang said.

This is not the first time that China has been accused of hacking US computer systems. In 2007, the Pentagon blamed a series of break-ins on hackers working for China's People's Liberation Army. Last month, the country was also said to be behind a massive spying operation involving individuals in 103 countries.