U.S. has requested Beijing to investigate reports that China interfered with the content in the Internet hosted outside the country and is used to attack U.S. websites, the State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said on Friday.

Spokesperson Rathke requested Chinese authorities to investigate on the cyber attack and detail the findings of their investigation. Furthermore, the government of China had denied that the government was behind the cyber hacking, as reported by Reuters.

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The State Department said that they were concerned by reports that China had used a new cyber ability to interfere with the ability of Internet users to access content hosted outside China, Reuters added.

It is said that the attack manipulated international web traffic intended for one of biggest Chinese web services companies and turned it into malicious traffic directed at U.S. websites, according to Rathke as told in a news briefing.

Meanwhile, according to Citizen Lab of Toronto, an analysis from information technology research group the "Great Cannon" of China said that they use a distinct attack tool that hijacks web traffic to or from individual IP addresses. Also, this permits China to target foreign computer that communicates with any China-based site, the NBC News reported.

"Every user in China could be potentially weaponized by their government," Justin W. Clarke said, a Cylance cybersecurity firm senior security researcher. He also said that China's "Great Cannon" is a "potentially devastating tool" that is one of the biggest cyber weapons, Reuters reported.

James Lewis, a senior fellow and cybersecurity expert at Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that they had to send a strong message: "You guys are really crossing the line." Lewis also said, "This was China going outside China to stifle dissent and coming into the U.S. to do it," Reuters added. The message was also made to remind those behind the cyber hacking.

In December, it can be noted that Sony Pictures was also hacked which was attributed to North Korea.

TagsCyber Attack, cyber hacking, Cyber Security, US security, web hacking