China's top industry regulator has suspended Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, as a cooperative partner of its cybersecurity threat information sharing platform for six months, sources close to the ministry said on Wednesday.

The suspension came after Alibaba Cloud failed to report a major security loophole to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in time, and the company failed to effectively support the ministry's efforts to manage cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, sources said on condition of anonymity as they can not publicly talk about the matter.

Once the suspension period expires, the ministry will study whether to resume Alibaba Cloud's identity as cooperative partner based on the company's efforts to rectify its operations, they added.

Alibaba Cloud and MIIT did not immediately respond to requests for comments.