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China Accused Of Pentagon Cyber Espionage
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-09-04
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Beijing's government has denied involvement in a June incursion into the Pentagon's computer network.
 | | China Accused Of Pentagon Cyber Espionage |  |
Chinese espionage against corporate and government interests has always fallen under the radar, as it did not touch the typical computer user. Security pros have acknowledged China's role in such cracking attempts, notably in the US, Germany, and Great Britain.
The Financial Times cited American officials in pointing a finger at military computer attackers in China being responsible for a successful attack on the Pentagon. Both current and former officials say the People's Liberation Army carried out the assault:
"The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system...and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale," said a former official, who said the PLA had penetrated the networks of US defence companies and think-tanks.
The result of the attack caused Department of Defense officials to take the cracked network offline for over a week, as they sought to figure out how the Chinese attackers had made their way into the system.
Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry denied culpability. In a BBC report, an official with that ministry called the accusations "totally groundless" and accused the US of a "Cold War mentality."
Although it isn't going to happen publicly, it could be easy to show via logfiles where the attacks originated. The Pentagon won't release that kind of information for diplomatic reasons, but one must think the topic will come up privately before or during President Bush's visit to the Apec Summit in Australia.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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