As Chinese Army hackers prove they’re better, US lobbies for strong cyber-laws
21 Feb 2013 7:45 AM IST
Amidst reports that a unit of the Chinese Army is allegedly behind majority of cyber-attacks inside the US, a top American Senator has called for an international agreement on the use of World Wide Web and a strong legislation against this.
‘In my view, the time has come for an international cyber agreement and for strong legislation that can improve information sharing and protect the critical infrastructure of this country. In absence of that, the United States remains especially vulnerable to a potential catastrophic cyber-attack,’ Senator Diana Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said on Tuesday.
Referring to a report by computer security company Mandiant, which outlines the concerted and comprehensive hacking of American targets by the Chinese military, Feinstein said this is a sobering public report on the lengths to which the Chinese military has gone to infiltrate and hack American companies and clearly demonstrates the need to pass cyber security legislation as soon as possible.
‘Beyond untold millions of dollars in economic losses, the latest attacks the report attributes to ‘Unit 61398’ does not focus on obtaining information but obtaining the ability to manipulate American critical infrastructure, the power grids and other utilities,’ Feinstein said.
‘Multiple American sources have raised the issue of cyber-attacks with Chinese interlocutors to no avail. In fact, there has been complete denial among the Chinese that this is occurring. I have personally raised cyber-attacks with Chinese officials as recently as last week. Again, complete denial,’ Feinstein said.
‘This report reinforces the need for a binding international agreement among nations to prohibit cyber-crimes and attacks with a workable enforcement mechanism,’ he said.
The Senator said that though there are international agreements to govern criminal activity and war, no mechanism has been put in place to prevent this increasingly dangerous national and economic security threat
According to the report, ‘APT1: Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units’ by an American computer security firm Mandiant, a unit of the Chinese army operating through thousands of personnel from a 12-storied building in Shanghai is behind an overwhelming majority of cyber-attacks in the United States.
‘Our research and observations indicate that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is tasking the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to commit systematic cyber espionage and data theft against organisations around the world,’ alleged the report.
‘Our analysis has led us to conclude that APT1 (Advanced Persistent Threat) is likely government-sponsored and one of the most persistent of China’s cyber threat actors,’ it said.
According to the report, APT1 is able to wage such a long-running and extensive cyber espionage campaign in large part because it receives direct government support.
‘In seeking to identify the organisation behind this activity, our research found that People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) Unit 61398 is similar to APT1 in its mission, capabilities, and resources,’ said the executive summary of the 60-page report released on Tuesday.
CHINA REJECTS HACKING CHARGES
China’s defence ministry denounced as ‘groundless’ the accusation by a US security firm that a secretive PLA unit is engaged in sophisticated cyber espionage around the world, saying the allegation lacked technical proof and legal basis. ‘US cyber security firm Mandiant’s report is groundless both in facts and legal basis,’ Geng Yansheng, spokesman with the Chinese Ministry of Defence said at a media briefing. China’s armed forces had never backed any hacking activities, he said.
Mandiant released a report on Monday in which it alleged that a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai was behind years of cyber attacks and has stolen data from 141 companies, 115 of which were in the US. Beijing routinely denied such charges of international cyber crimes.
‘In my view, the time has come for an international cyber agreement and for strong legislation that can improve information sharing and protect the critical infrastructure of this country. In absence of that, the United States remains especially vulnerable to a potential catastrophic cyber-attack,’ Senator Diana Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said on Tuesday.
Referring to a report by computer security company Mandiant, which outlines the concerted and comprehensive hacking of American targets by the Chinese military, Feinstein said this is a sobering public report on the lengths to which the Chinese military has gone to infiltrate and hack American companies and clearly demonstrates the need to pass cyber security legislation as soon as possible.
‘Beyond untold millions of dollars in economic losses, the latest attacks the report attributes to ‘Unit 61398’ does not focus on obtaining information but obtaining the ability to manipulate American critical infrastructure, the power grids and other utilities,’ Feinstein said.
‘Multiple American sources have raised the issue of cyber-attacks with Chinese interlocutors to no avail. In fact, there has been complete denial among the Chinese that this is occurring. I have personally raised cyber-attacks with Chinese officials as recently as last week. Again, complete denial,’ Feinstein said.
‘This report reinforces the need for a binding international agreement among nations to prohibit cyber-crimes and attacks with a workable enforcement mechanism,’ he said.
The Senator said that though there are international agreements to govern criminal activity and war, no mechanism has been put in place to prevent this increasingly dangerous national and economic security threat
According to the report, ‘APT1: Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units’ by an American computer security firm Mandiant, a unit of the Chinese army operating through thousands of personnel from a 12-storied building in Shanghai is behind an overwhelming majority of cyber-attacks in the United States.
‘Our research and observations indicate that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is tasking the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to commit systematic cyber espionage and data theft against organisations around the world,’ alleged the report.
‘Our analysis has led us to conclude that APT1 (Advanced Persistent Threat) is likely government-sponsored and one of the most persistent of China’s cyber threat actors,’ it said.
According to the report, APT1 is able to wage such a long-running and extensive cyber espionage campaign in large part because it receives direct government support.
‘In seeking to identify the organisation behind this activity, our research found that People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) Unit 61398 is similar to APT1 in its mission, capabilities, and resources,’ said the executive summary of the 60-page report released on Tuesday.
CHINA REJECTS HACKING CHARGES
China’s defence ministry denounced as ‘groundless’ the accusation by a US security firm that a secretive PLA unit is engaged in sophisticated cyber espionage around the world, saying the allegation lacked technical proof and legal basis. ‘US cyber security firm Mandiant’s report is groundless both in facts and legal basis,’ Geng Yansheng, spokesman with the Chinese Ministry of Defence said at a media briefing. China’s armed forces had never backed any hacking activities, he said.
Mandiant released a report on Monday in which it alleged that a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai was behind years of cyber attacks and has stolen data from 141 companies, 115 of which were in the US. Beijing routinely denied such charges of international cyber crimes.
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