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British Firms Warned Of Chinese Threat
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-12-03
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Aggressive attacks by Chinese state organizations against business interests in the United Kingdom have the country's MI5 agency sounding an alarm.
 | | British Firms Warned Of Chinese Threat |  |
Although we called China's continued computer attacks a cyber Cold War, the truth is the war has been hot for some time. Instead of 7.62mm rounds echoing over people's heads, the attackers wield a variety of computer cracking tools that make little noise.
It isn't only the United States that is caught up in a continual battle, on government and private corporate networks, against the Chinese threat. In Britain, Times Online revealed a confidential letter sent from the head of the MI5 security service to 300 companies in banking, accounting, and law.
The letter cited "Chinese state organizations" committing electronic espionage against financial interests in Britain, and that these targets were presently under attack. "The attacks are designed to defeat best-practice IT security systems," a summary of the letter said in the report.
If the United States has issued similar warnings, they have not become known yet. The MI5 letter noted the need to maintain business relations with China, but to be aware of the risks. Those risks include the use of custom Trojans, which attackers try to get onto a targeted network.
Neither the British nor the Chinese government commented on the Times' report. When accused of espionage against other countries, China regularly denies the events take place. A blanket denial in the face of an MI5 advisory isn't going to look credible.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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