Besides causing severe disruptions in China, such cyberattacks could lead to international time chaos with incalculable consequences, the agency said in a post on its official WeChat account.
Wei Dong, deputy director of the general office at the centre, said a time discrepancy of just one millisecond can disrupt the sequencing of power substations, leading to widespread blackouts. A difference of one microsecond could result in fluctuations worth billions in international stock markets.
“Furthermore, a nanosecond discrepancy, which is one-billionth of a second, can reduce the positioning accuracy of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System by 30 centimetres and impact everyday communications. And a one-trillionth of a second could cause several kilometres of deviation in the positioning of lunar soil collection vehicles and the Chang’e spacecraft, potentially preventing it from returning successfully,” Wei told China Central Television.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 