Tuesday, February 19, 2013

U.S. Officials Addressing Cyber Threat At 'Highest Levels' With China, On Heels Of Hacker Report



Barnini Chakraborty at FoxNews.com offers a report on the cyber threat from China.

Obama administration officials said Tuesday they have "serious concern" with China's alleged cyber-snooping and are raising the issue "at the highest levels" in Beijing, on the heels of a report that claimed China's People's Liberation Army had stolen data from 115 U.S. companies over a seven-year period.

U.S. officials would not comment directly on the report. But they said the U.S. is bulking up its cyber-defenses while stressing a new -- albeit controversial -- White House executive order aimed at helping protect computer networks of crucial American industries from cyber attacks.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland stopped short of saying whether the U.S. was in a cyber-war with China.

But she and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said U.S. officials have started a dialogue with the "highest levels" of the Chinese government, including with "officials in the military."
"It is a major challenge for us in the national security arena," Carney said, adding that it is known that foreign countries and companies "swipe" sensitive U.S. information.

Pentagon spokesman George Little also said the U.S. is a "victim of cyber-attacks from various places around the world," and continues "to shore up our cyber defense which this department is doing."

He acknowledged that "cyber threats do emanate from China."

The comments come on the heels of allegations made Monday that a group linked to the Chinese government has been hacking into the online accounts of U.S. businesses. U.S. firm Mandiant Corp. said in a 74-page report that the group affiliated with China's People's Liberation Army had stolen data from 141 companies, 115 of which were in the U.S., over a seven-year period starting in 2006. While Mandiant didn't name the specific companies that were hacked, the report did say those targeted included information technology, aerospace and energy companies.

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/19/us-raising-highest-levels-cyber/

You can also read David M. Ewalt's piece on the China cyber threat at Forbes.com via the below link:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2013/02/19/chinese-army-directing-cyber-espionage-against-western-businesses/

Note: The above emplem is of China's People's Liberation Army from Wikipedia. 

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