China and the Cybersecurity Myth

In the wake of emerging cyberattacks against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), China yet again emerges as the prime suspect.  Given this latest round of hacks against the United States, it should come as no surprise then that “the U.S.–China cybersecurity talks at the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) largely failed” (Inserra, 2014).  The failure could also have something to do with the United States’ indictment of five Chinese PLA military members; which further chilled the relationship between the two super-powers. 

In the most recent hacks, the USPS announced that “800,000 employees had their personal data stolen including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers while the NOAA reported that four websites were compromised, but it is unknown if any data was stolen.”  To further illustrate the situation Robert Anderson, executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI told the Senate Homeland Security Committee in September 2014 that “it’s likely that every federal department has been hacked”  (Inserra, 2014).  In the wake of an apparently never-ending cyberattack most likely purported by China, it would seem direct negotiations would be the place to start.  Alas, the U.S. and China made little progress when President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at APEC this year.  While China emphasized the desire to coordinate on matters of cyberterrorism, the United States was more concerned with “the importance of protecting intellectual property as well as trade secrets, especially against cyber threats” (Bennett, 2014).  Unfortunately, as Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security Stewart A. Baker noted, “China has been unapologetic about its activities when confronted by U.S. officials” (Inserra, 2014).  I would take this diplomatic statement one step further to say that the theft of intellectual property, especially property involving defense related materials, is a national strategy for China.  Whether the target is the F-35 stealth fighter (Gertz 2014) or a myriad of other civilian and commercial technologies (Frizell, 2014), the outcome is the same.  China will not stop.  I have long held the belief that in a world where a cyberattack costing thousands can net technologies representing billions, why would any nation stop?

References

Bennett, C. (2014). US, China see little progress on cybersecurity. The Hill. Retrieved from http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/223865-us-china-see-little-progress-on-cybersecurity

Frizell, S. (2014). Here’s what Chinese hackers actually stole from U.S. companies. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/106319/heres-what-chinese-hackers-actually-stole-from-u-s-companies/

Gertz, B. (2014). Top Gun takeover: Stolen F-35 secrets showing up in China’s stealth fighter. The Washington Times. Retrieved from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/13/f-35-secrets-now-showing-chinas-stealth-fighter/?page=all

Inserra, D. (2014). Cybersecurity: Time for the U.S. to Stop Negotiating with China and Start Acting. The Daily Signal. Retrieved from http://dailysignal.com/2014/11/24/cybersecurity-time-u-s-stop-negotiating-china-start-acting/