海角大神

The Obama administration fired a warning shot Monday across the bow of the Chinese cyberespionage juggernaut, laying out specific expectations from China and reiterating its vow to take unspecified 鈥渁ction鈥� if the theft of proprietary data from US corporations continues unabated.

In a speech at the Asia Society of New York, President Obama鈥檚 national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, appeared to move the administration鈥檚 marker on cyberespionage beyond Mr. Obama鈥檚 own notable attack on the practice in his State of the Union address, in which he refrained from mentioning China by name.

In his comments Monday, Mr. Donilon left no doubt the White House is shifting to a more aggressive stance 鈥� including demands for the investigation of cyberespionage cases conducted against US business.

American businesses are 鈥渟peaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyberintrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale,鈥� Donilon said. 鈥淭he international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country. As the president said in the State of the Union, we will take action to protect our economy against cyberthreats.鈥�

More significantly, though, Donilon for the first time laid out specific expectations that, if not met, could result in the unspecified US action 鈥� which in the past has been interpreted as leaving open the options not only for an offensive cyberattack, but for sanctions or even a military response 鈥� depending on the severity of the cyberintrusions.

鈥淲e seek three things from the Chinese side,鈥� Donilon said. 鈥淔irst, we need a recognition of the urgency and scope of this problem and the risk it poses 鈥� to international trade, to the reputation of Chinese industry, and to our overall relations. Second, Beijing should take serious steps to investigate and put a stop to these activities.聽 Finally, we need China to engage with us in a constructive direct dialogue to establish acceptable norms of behavior in cyberspace.鈥�

Cyberpolicy experts said the administration鈥檚 move is significant, following the high profile cyberespionage attacks on The New York Times, Washington Post, and other news media. It also follows on the heels of a major report last month by the cybersecurity company Mandiant pinning the lion鈥檚 share of the cyberespionage carried out against US companies on a unit of the People鈥檚 Liberation Army that operates out of a 12-story building in Shanghai.

鈥淭his is really the first time a senior US official has come out and given Chinese officials three specific steps on what we need to do to work on this cyberspying problem,鈥� says James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a national security think tank in Washington. 鈥淣o one has ever publicly come out and said this directly to the Chinese before 鈥� that we want recognition by them of the scope of the problem, we want direct investigation of these cases 鈥� and direct dialogue on international norms.鈥�

China鈥檚 routine position has been to note that Chinese law prohibits cyberespionage 鈥� and that none is being conducted or condoned by the Chinese government. But that plausible deniability had its fig leaf largely shredded by the Mandiant report and a raft of other investigations into cyberintrusions into US technology firms like Google and into critical infrastructure like US natural gas pipeline companies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to negotiate with people who don鈥檛 admit to reality,鈥� Dr. Lewis says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to admit to spying, but they need to just admit that they are developing a strong military and intelligence capability. They can鈥檛 say they have nothing, which is what they usually do.鈥�

Cooperating on the investigation of cybercrimes would be 鈥渄ifficult for them, but a good requirement,鈥� Lewis says. So would direct engagement on international norms.

China has in the past urged the US to sign its 鈥渃ode of conduct鈥� for cyberspace 鈥� a document the US has refused to sign because of the limits it places on human rights. Still, the Obama administration has for about three years been in formal negotiations with Russia and informal talks with China.

If Chinese infractions continue, the US response would likely be, at least initially, relatively small but symbolic measures, including restricting visas for Chinese individuals involved in cyberactions against the US. The Mandiant report specifically identified three hackers that were part of the military unit 鈥� two of whom attended graduate school in the US. They could be refused a visa to visit the US in the future. Beyond that, Lewis says, US officials visiting China should raise cybersecurity every time 鈥� as should officials from other countries.

Donilon鈥檚 statement appeared also to urge China not to squander US goodwill.

鈥淲e have worked hard to build a constructive bilateral relationship that allows us to engage forthrightly on priority issues of concern,鈥� Donilon said. 鈥淎nd the United States and China, the world鈥檚 two largest economies, both dependent on the Internet, must lead the way in addressing this problem.鈥�