WSJ Says China 'Acknowledged Its Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks' (msn.com) 47
Here's an update from the Wall Street Journal about a "widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure."
China was behind it, "Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting... according to people familiar with the matter..." The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan, the people, who declined to be named, said... U.S. officials went public last year with unusually dire warnings about the uncovered Volt Typhoon effort. They publicly attributed it to Beijing trying to get a foothold in U.S. computer networks so its army could quickly detonate damaging cyberattacks during a future conflict. [American officials at the meeting perceived the remarks as "intended to scare the U.S. from involving itself if a conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait."]
The Chinese official's remarks at the December meeting were indirect and somewhat ambiguous, but most of the American delegation in the room interpreted it as a tacit admission and a warning to the U.S. about Taiwan, a former U.S. official familiar with the meeting said... In a statement, the State Department didn't comment on the meeting but said the U.S. had made clear to Beijing it will "take actions in response to Chinese malicious cyber activity," describing the hacking as "some of the gravest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security...."
A Chinese official would likely only acknowledge the intrusions even in a private setting if instructed to do so by the top levels of Xi's government, said Dakota Cary, a China expert at the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne. The tacit admission is significant, he said, because it may reflect a view in Beijing that the likeliest military conflict with the U.S. would be over Taiwan and that a more direct signal about the stakes of involvement needed to be sent to the Trump administration. "China wants U.S. officials to know that, yes, they do have this capability, and they are willing to use it," Cary said.
The article notes that top U.S. officials have said America's Defense Department "will pursue more offensive cyber strikes against China."
But it adds that the administration "also plans to dismiss hundreds of cybersecurity workers in sweeping job cuts and last week fired the director of the National Security Agency and his deputy, fanning concerns from some intelligence officials and lawmakers that the government would be weakened in defending against the attacks."
China was behind it, "Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting... according to people familiar with the matter..." The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan, the people, who declined to be named, said... U.S. officials went public last year with unusually dire warnings about the uncovered Volt Typhoon effort. They publicly attributed it to Beijing trying to get a foothold in U.S. computer networks so its army could quickly detonate damaging cyberattacks during a future conflict. [American officials at the meeting perceived the remarks as "intended to scare the U.S. from involving itself if a conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait."]
The Chinese official's remarks at the December meeting were indirect and somewhat ambiguous, but most of the American delegation in the room interpreted it as a tacit admission and a warning to the U.S. about Taiwan, a former U.S. official familiar with the meeting said... In a statement, the State Department didn't comment on the meeting but said the U.S. had made clear to Beijing it will "take actions in response to Chinese malicious cyber activity," describing the hacking as "some of the gravest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security...."
A Chinese official would likely only acknowledge the intrusions even in a private setting if instructed to do so by the top levels of Xi's government, said Dakota Cary, a China expert at the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne. The tacit admission is significant, he said, because it may reflect a view in Beijing that the likeliest military conflict with the U.S. would be over Taiwan and that a more direct signal about the stakes of involvement needed to be sent to the Trump administration. "China wants U.S. officials to know that, yes, they do have this capability, and they are willing to use it," Cary said.
The article notes that top U.S. officials have said America's Defense Department "will pursue more offensive cyber strikes against China."
But it adds that the administration "also plans to dismiss hundreds of cybersecurity workers in sweeping job cuts and last week fired the director of the National Security Agency and his deputy, fanning concerns from some intelligence officials and lawmakers that the government would be weakened in defending against the attacks."
Secret Chinese December meeting ;) (Score:1)
Re:Secret Chinese December meeting ;) (Score:4, Insightful)
You should have gotten used to the daily two minutes hate already, now that it is running non-stop.
Re: Secret Chinese December meeting ;) (Score:2)
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https://i.imgur.com/Zckt8tZ.pn... [imgur.com]
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There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says "Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again.
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Resoundingly proven wrong at least 4 times this century.
Mission accomplished, I guess.
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No pre-emptive wars, that was a really, really dumb idea even if Iraq had yellowcake.
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Counterpoint to what exactly?
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Way to say nothing in so many words.
oops... (Score:2, Offtopic)
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Now the Chinese hackers? They are pussydragons. Much more dangerous.
Headline is 100% accurate, not (Score:4, Insightful)
The Chinese official's remarks at the December meeting were indirect and ambiguous, but most of the American delegation in the room interpreted it...
Another example of our wonderful mainstream media working hard to bring us truth and accuracy every day.
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We based our conclusions on the brand of watch he wore.
Propaganda? (Score:3)
U.S. officials went public last year
The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan, the people, who declined to be named, said
The Chinese official's remarks at the December meeting were indirect and somewhat ambiguous, but most of the American delegation in the room interpreted it as a tacit admission and a warning to the U.S. about Taiwan, a former U.S. official familiar with the meeting said..
"China wants U.S. officials to know that, yes, they do have this capability, and they are willing to use it," Cary said.
Finally a real name attached ... to pure speculation. One might ask why China would think it is necessary to confirm the capability or their willingness to use it to people who are accusing them of both. So the only named source here is a self-promoter from some obscure security company with no real indication of any particular expertise. He's a "China expert."
This is really an indication of how the power relationship between journalists and sources has become entirely one-sided. There was a time when jo
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Only a stupid one.
"Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world?" - Dr Strangelove
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Have you read or listened to how Chinese officials usually speak? Indirect and ambiguous comment is a core part of their communication technique, even when they intend a very specific meaning.
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1) Taiwan is blockaded by ships and airplanes in another military exercise [cnn.com], when suddenly the start shooting.
2) Cut all communication to Taiwan by cutting fiber and blowing up satellites, including GPS.
3) Missile barrage aimed at US military bases in Okinawa, Guam, Sasebo, Seoul, Yokohama, Chinhe, etc.
4) Attempts to sink US carriers with "hypersonic missiles."
5) Hacking US communication systems to prevent a coord
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The lady works at the US Naval War College. How is that not military related?
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An academic take is usually multidisciplinary, well-researched, built on the work of other academics, and tries to be informative (as opposed to polemic).
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"unstated ability to get access to systems" (Score:2)
Re: Administration's new encryption policy. Date: September 28, 1999.
Weldon statement. [techlawjournal.com]
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Microsoft Opens Source to China [slashdot.org]
Re: "unstated ability to get access to systems" (Score:2)
They opened the source code long ago, because it is a mandatory requirement for doing any business with the Dutch and other EU governments, since about a decade.
That was before the EU was considered s hostile entity, but still.
"...according to people familiar with the matter." (Score:2)
A State Department stenographer newspaper accusing the latest boogeyman and quoting unnamed sources. **rolls eyes**
Sort of a misguided Chinese tactic (Score:2)
So, essentially China is saying to the US, if you step in when we invade Taiwan, we'll launch a cyber Pearl Harbor on you. That, of course, will force the US from being a bystander in the Taiwan conflict to being a direct participant. It wasn't smart of the Japanese to do that many years ago, and it wouldn't be smart of the Chinese to do that in the future. Especially after admitting in advance of the massive cyber attack, since a massive cyber attack would be tantamount to a missile attack.
And... (Score:1)
Wait - Trump did what !? (Score:5, Insightful)
He fired the head and deputy head of the NSA ?????
Is he completely insane .... oh wait ... I forgot for a moment.
So now there is nobody competent directing the US Infosec function. Great.
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So now there is nobody competent directing the US Infosec function. Great.
You have nobody competent directing the government in general. Why should the departments within the government be any different?
Re: Wait - Trump did what !? (Score:2)
I'm sure Laura Loomer will tell him about her nephew who is a great infosec leader and also a big fan of Trump.
All hail the new NSA, now dedicated to monitoring Unamerican Activities like disagreeing with Trump.
Re: Wait - Trump did what !? (Score:2)
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Russia (Score:3)
In the same article (Score:2)
Funny thing is, hacking the US is easy. China is hard.
Asian Americans make up about 4.5% of the US military, and 4.3% of the US intelligence services. Assume about half of that is Chinese American. Assume half of that speaks at least one Chinese language proficiently, expect less than one quarter of that reads and writes one of the two written Chinese languages with high school proficiency. In other words, even with state-of-the-art AI, the US cannot e