Monday, August 29, 2005

China Steps Up It's Cyber War On U.S. Military

Yes, that big cuddly nation/marketplace that is all the rage, a lefties delight in that it is a devout foe of America and for the most part running under the radar (the libs loves sneak attacks as it gives them someone to blame for something they started), has launched thousands of cyber-attacks against American military installations throughout the world.

New York Post Online Edition: postopinion

by Ralph Peters

"Last year, the Department of Defense suffered a record 79,000 computer network attacks, including some that actually reduced the military's operational capabilities. In the past, top-flight military units such as the Army's 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and the 4th Infantry Division have been "hacked."

According to Pentagon sources, most attacks on America's "digital" Achilles' Heel are originating from the People's Republic of China (PRC), making Chinese information warfare (IW) operations an issue we'd better pay close attention to.

China's military has incorporated cyberwarfare tactics into military exercises and created schools that specialize in IW. It's also hiring top computer-science graduates to develop its cyberwarfare capabilities and, literally, create an "army of hackers."

According to the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Security Review Commission (USCC): "The Chinese realize that they cannot win a traditional war against the U.S [in Asia] and are seeking unorthodox ways to defeat the U.S. in any such conflict . . . while building up their military power to eventually match or exceed U.S. military capabilities in East Asia."

Fear not, Wal-Mart lovers, for although China remains an enormous threat they are lacking in certain key elements necessary to land a knockout punch to America's cyber-capabilities on the battlefield. Sources close to this fray tell me that the vast majority of such attacks from China are recognized as such early on in the game, and allowed to penetrate as a test of China's increasing interest and capability in this area of warfare. But here's where dictatorships always fail in the end; the Chinese hackers responsible for the attacks know that we know they're fumbling in our systems, but are reluctant to tell their masters in Peking from fear of demotion. Demotion from the chin up, that is. So they poke and prod and do as much irrelevant damage as possible, then report successes that never really happened. They keep their heads, we learn how to better safeguard the systems they're interested in, and the warlords are kept happy.

So what capabilities are they lacking? Try Freedom. Try Independent thought. And those are just the beginning of an analysis of THEIR weaknesses.

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