. Military Space News .




.
CYBER WARS
China cyber warfare skills a risk to US military: report
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 8, 2012


China's cyber warfare capabilities would pose a danger to US military forces in the event of a conflict over Taiwan, according to a report by a US congressional advisory panel released Thursday.

The report by defense contractor Northrop Grumman for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has placed great emphasis on what is known as "information confrontation."

"Chinese capabilities in computer network operations have advanced sufficiently to pose genuine risk to US military operations in the event of a conflict," the report said.

"(PLA) leaders have embraced the idea that successful warfighting is based on the ability to exert control over an adversary's information and information systems," it said.

"PLA analysts consistently identify logistics and (command-and-control) infrastructure as US strategic centers of gravity, which they would almost certainly target," the report said.

The 135-page report outlined a possible scenario in the event of a US defense of self-governing Taiwan -- which Beijing considers to be a part of its territory awaiting reunification -- from Chinese military attack.

The PLA would target US systems with "electronic countermeasures weapons and network attack and exploitation tools, likely in advance of actual combat to delay US entry or degrade capabilities in a conflict," it said.

Difficulty in attributing responsibility for a cyber attack could hamper the US response, the report warned.

"Even if circumstantial evidence points to China as the culprit, no policy currently exists to easily determine appropriate response options to a large scale attack on US military or civilian networks in which definitive attribution is lacking," the report said.

"Beijing may seek to exploit this gray area in US policymaking and legal frameworks to create delays in US command decision-making," it said.

The report also said that Chinese companies, some with foreign partners supplying critical technology, were giving the PLA access to cutting-edge research and technology.

The report warned that the PLA's ties with large Chinese telecommunications firms "creates an avenue for state sponsored or state directed penetrations of supply chains for electronics supporting the US military, the US government, and civilian industry."

This has the potential to cause the "catastrophic failure of systems and networks supporting critical infrastructure for national security or public safety," it said.

Michael Wessel, a member of the commission, said the report "highlights China's extensive development of cyber tools to advance the leadership's objectives.

"It's getting harder and harder for China's leaders to claim ignorance and innocence as to the massive electronic reconnaissance and cyber intrusions activities directed by Chinese interests at the US government and our private sector," Wessel said.

"There's clear and present danger that is increasing every day."

The commission was created by Congress to report on the national security implications of trade and economic relations between China and the United States and the report comes as the Senate debates cybersecurity legislation.

In an unusually blunt report in November, a US intelligence agency accused the Chinese of being the world's "most active and persistent perpetrators" of economic espionage, particularly in cyberspace.

China has repeatedly denied state involvement in cyber espionage against Western governments and companies, including well-publicized attacks on Internet giant Google that sparked a row between Washington and Beijing.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



CYBER WARS
Internet Censorship Revealed Through the Haze of Malware Pollution
San Diego CA (SPX) Mar 09, 2012
On a January evening in 2011, Egypt - with a population of 80 million, including 23 million Internet users - vanished from cyberspace after its government ordered an Internet blackout amidst anti-government protests that led to the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The following month, the Libyan government, also under siege, imposed an Internet "curfew" before completely cutting off a ... read more


CYBER WARS
Raytheon Awarded Contract for Patriot Engineering Services

Lockheed Martin Completes Delivery of All Components of First THAAD Battery to US Army

Opposition deputies protest against NATO radar system

Israel to test Arrow-3 anti-missile system

CYBER WARS
Raytheon Awarded US Army Contract to Counter Rockets

Pakistan test fires short-range ballistic missile

Raytheon Completes First Test of JSOW-ER Warhead

US Army Fires Raytheon Griffin Missile During Forward Operating Base Protection Test

CYBER WARS
FAA Starts UAS Test Site Selection Process

Taiwan drone missing

CU Team's Efficient Unmanned Aircraft Jetting Toward Commercialization

Drone makers cashing in as war tactics evolve

CYBER WARS
Boeing and Artel to Provide Commercial Satellite Services to US Government

Raytheon And DARPA to Help Friendly Forces Communicate While Conducting Electronic Warfare

Lockheed Martin Team Completes On-Orbit Testing Of First AEHF Satellite

Raytheon's US Air Force Satellite Terminal Achieves Two Critical Milestones

CYBER WARS
Boeing Delivers First P-8A Poseidon Production Aircraft to US Navy

IWI Introduces the World's Only 7.62mm Caliber LMG with Semi-Automatic Mode

Soldiers recover bodies from Congo blast site

Raytheon Demonstrates Enhanced Capabilities for TOW

CYBER WARS
India moves on howitzer purchase

Indian ban hits Israel's defense industry

Gulf states bale out U.S. arms industry

Fifth Generation Fighters Crucial to Air Superiority

CYBER WARS
Top Chinese leader speaks to media on political drama

Clinton urges China to prove intentions

China tells US committed to 'peaceful development'

China urges US to respect its interests in Asia

CYBER WARS
Drexel Advances Understanding of Energy Storage Mechanisms in Nature Materials

Solved: The Mystery of the Nanoscale Crop Circles

New measuring techniques can improve efficiency, safety of nanoparticles

Nanofiber Breakthrough Holds Promise for Medicine and Microprocessors


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement