China Targets U.S. With Cyber-Espionage
The Chinese government appears increasingly to be piercing U.S. government and defense industry computer networks to gather useful data for its military.
“A large body of both circumstantial and forensic evidence strongly indicates Chinese state involvement in such activities,” the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its 2009 report to Congress, according to Reuters.
Beijing has begun to broaden its national security concerns beyond a potential clash across the Taiwan Strait and issues around its periphery, the 367-page report said.
China is the most aggressive country conducting espionage against the United States, focused on obtaining data and know-how to help military modernization and economic development, it added.
The amount of “malicious” computer activities against the United States increased in 2008 and is rising sharply this year, it said, adding, “Much of this activity appears to originate in China.”
“China’s peacetime computer exploitation efforts are primarily focused on intelligence collection against U.S. targets and Chinese dissident groups abroad,” the commission’s report said.
Reuters reported that a Northrop Grumman study was prepared for the commission and released in October. It said Beijing appeared to be conducting “a long-term, sophisticated, computer network exploitation campaign” against the government and U.S. defense industries.
