U.S. Friend or Enemy?

Every time I read something about a cyber security risk, hack, or intrusion I can count on it originating from one place: China. Seems like every report out there details ties to Chinese security forces who are either attacking critical U.S. infrastructure or worse, stealing critical U.S. technology.

US, China behind two-thirds of computer security threats( AFP)Updated: 2007-01-23 08:48
WASHINGTON - The United States and China host nearly two-thirds of spam, viruses and other computer security threats delivered around the world in 2006.

Computer security firm Sophos said 31 percent of the so-called malware last year originated from China.

washingtonpost.com

Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites: U.S. Agencies' Networks Are Among Targets

Web sites in China are being used heavily to target computer networks in the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies, successfully breaching hundreds of unclassified networks, according to several U.S. officials.

"The scope of this thing is surprisingly big," said one of four government officials who spoke separately about the incidents.

It's not just the Defense Department but a wide variety of networks that have been hit," including the departments of State, Energy and Homeland Security as well as defense contractors, the official said. "This is an ongoing, organized attempt to siphon off information..."

Network attack disables Naval War College

Computer and e-mail systems are off-line at the Naval War College following a network intrusion Nov. 15. After the attack, the Defense Department raised its information warfare awareness level to Information Condition (Infocon) 4.

According to a news report, Chinese hackers are responsible for the attack. One professor told his class Nov. 27 that they took down the entire college network, the report states.

Chinese attacks on DOD systems are far more widespread than is publicly known, Paller said, but almost all attacks remain classified. “The problem is thousands of times bigger than what you hear,” he said.