China is a lead cyberattacker of US military computers, Pentagon reports
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| Washington
China has long been considered a dangerous thorn in the Pentagon鈥檚 side when it comes to cybersecurity.聽
Now, a new Department of Defense report warns that not only is China responsible for many of the cyberattacks on US military computer systems, but that the country continues to launch cyber operations that threaten the US economy as well, making the Chinese "the world's most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage."聽
These developments are 鈥渟omething we continue to pay very, very close attention to,鈥 David Helvey, acting deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Asia security, said Friday. 鈥淚 think their continued efforts in this area reflect the importance that they鈥檙e placing on developing capabilities for cyberwarfare.鈥澛
True, China is particularly interested in how best to defend its own computer networks, but more troubling, senior defense officials say, is that the Chinese military is bettering its ability to launch cyberattacks as well.聽
鈥淲e note that China鈥檚 investing in not only capabilities to better defend their networks, but also they鈥檙e looking at ways to use cyber for offensive operations,鈥 added Mr. Helvey during a Pentagon briefing.
The People鈥檚 Liberation Army has set up a dedicated cyberunit to develop cyberwarfare technologies. 鈥淭here is the potential for these types of operations to be very disruptive,鈥 he added. 鈥淚 mean, that鈥檚 one of the things about military operations in cyberspace 鈥 that there can be cascading effects that are hard to predict.鈥
One such impact includes cyberespionage on US companies, which US officials estimate has cost America billions of dollars in revenue. A report released last year by the US intelligence agencies called China鈥檚 cyberespionage a 鈥減ersistent threat to US economic security.鈥澛
Two US House members went further:聽"Every morning in China, thousands of highly trained computer spies now wake up with one mission: Steal U.S. intellectual property that the Chinese can use to further their economic growth," Reps. Mike Rogers (R) of Michigan and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) of Maryland, chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,聽wrote in an op-ed article last month. "American companies are hemorrhaging research and development on products ranging from fighter engines, to pesticides, to cutting-edge information technology."
Chinese leaders tend to deny such attacks. 鈥淚 can hardly agree with the proposition that the cyberattacks directed to the United States are directly coming from China,鈥 Gen. Liang Guanglie, China鈥檚 minister of national defense, said during a press conference at the Pentagon, where he was visiting, earlier this month.
On this point, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was elliptical as he stood beside his Chinese counterpart. 鈥淚t鈥檚 true, as the general pointed out, that obviously there are other countries, actors, others involved in some of the attacks that both our countries receive.鈥
But 鈥渟ome鈥 does not account for the 鈥渕any鈥 cyberattacks coming from China cited in the most recent Pentagon assessment of Chinese military might.聽
Helvey declined to point the finger directly at the Chinese government, demurring when asked if that鈥檚 who is ultimately responsible for the attacks. 鈥淲hen you say 鈥榝rom China,鈥 you mean from the Chinese government, presumably, right?鈥 a reporter wondered.
鈥淚 just said it comes from China. I didn鈥檛 specify the specific attribution,鈥 Helvey responded. 鈥淏ut we do have some concern about a number of these ... particular operations that appear to originate from China.鈥澛
Even as China develops advanced military capabilities, along with greater proficiency in cyberattacks, US officials stress that the Pentagon must avoid being caught off guard by Chinese advances in other weapons systems as well, such as advanced submarines, space technologies, and missile defense.聽
鈥淭hat is something that we have to anticipate and expect. I mean, we鈥檙e paying very careful attention to China鈥檚 military modernization,鈥 Helvey said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e been surprised in the past, and we may very well be surprised in terms of seeing new weapons and equipment in the future.鈥澛