Microsoft and Western espionage agencies claim that Chinese hackers attacked vital equipment on American military sites in Guam using "stealthy" malware.
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One of the greatest documented cyberespionage activities against the US, according to experts.
Guam's ports and air bases, a significant US military presence, would be essential to any Western reaction to an Asian conflict.
The Microsoft research has been referred to as "highly unprofessional" and "disinformation" by Beijing.
Microsoft released information on the virus on Wednesday together with the Five Eyes alliance, which consists of the intelligence services of the US, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada.
A long-standing agreement for intelligence cooperation is the Five Eyes effort. The partners claim their goal is to instruct business users and key infrastructure providers on malware detection and removal.
The malicious code was deployed, according to Microsoft, which reported the incident, to snoop on and interfere with "communications infrastructure between the US and Asia during future crises."
It specifically targeted the manufacturing, transportation, utilities, and communications industries. The goal was to keep vital systems accessible for as long as feasible.
The IT business said that "living-off-the-land techniques" were used in the attack, which was conducted by China's state-sponsored cyber organization "Volt Typhoon".
In order to alter their tools and issue commands, hackers must infiltrate local networks while mainly avoiding detection.
Speaking in response to questions at a news conference for the Chinese foreign ministry, spokeswoman Mao Ning referred to the US as the "hacker empire" and brushed aside the allegation as having a "serious lack of evidence chain."
Although the US and China frequently accuse one another of eavesdropping, analysts think the United Five Eyes declaration is significant.
According to Jamie Norton, a partner at restructuring and advising company McGrathNicol, "the fact that it's a Five Eyes initiative - there's significant concern over what this attack might be a precursor to in terms of the intent behind it, and the sabotage element here."
In his study of the incident, Microsoft discovered no indication that the Chinese hackers had utilized their access to Guam's networks for any offensive activities, according to Mr. Norton, a former information security advisor to the Australian government.
But, he continued, that discovery may be indicative of a larger effort to "exfiltrate and farm data over the long term" in order to carry out future sabotage activities.
