[ISN] Cyber cooperation needed

[InfoSec News <alerts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-11/22/content_14138092.htm

China Daily
2011-11-22

The United States continues to blame China for alleged intrusions into 
US government and defense industry computer networks.

This month a report released by the Project 2049 Initiative, a US-based 
think tank, details China's signals intelligence organization, and what 
role it thinks the People's Liberation Army has in collecting cyber 
intelligence.

And last month, a draft report by the US-China Economic and Security 
Review Commission claimed that cyber hackers "achieved all the steps 
required to command" a US satellite and claimed the techniques of the 
hackers "appear consistent with authoritative Chinese military 
writings".

In the court of public opinion, the US has managed to successfully 
portray itself as the main victim of cyber attacks.

But it is no secret that the US has already developed an information 
warfare doctrine and has capability to make cyber attacks on other 
nations.

Just before the NATO-led air strikes in Libya in March, the Obama 
administration intensely debated whether to start a cyber offensive to 
break through the firewalls of the Libyan government's computer networks 
to sever military communications links.

In the end, US officials decided not to launch a cyber offensive, 
supposedly for fear that it might set a precedent for other nations to 
carry out such offensives of their own.

The US military is clearly capable of conducting offensive operations in 
cyberspace at any time and against any country.

The Pentagon's pre-emptive strategy in responding militarily in 
cyberspace is aimed at preserving the US' dominance over cyberspace, 
regardless of its own threat to other sovereign states.

But Washington's excessive emphasis on absolute cyber security and 
concerns about China's growing cyber threat might lead to misjudgments 
and hostilities.

With both state actors and non-state actors joining the cyber game, the 
risks of miscalculation between states will increase, especially if a 
non-state hacker can infiltrate a country's military networks and launch 
an attack against another country.

The global nature of the Internet means that cyber attacks can originate 
from a hacker anywhere in the world.

Without universally acknowledged rules, cyberspace is still a field 
where the law of the jungle prevails.

Therefore, both China and the US should exchange strategies and 
information to jointly combat profit-driven cyber crimes, which account 
for 80 percent of all reported global cyber incidents.

With regard to cyber attacks which might trigger unintended cyber 
conflicts or even larger conflicts among states, China and the US should 
strive to build greater mutual trust by communicating more closely, 
especially in cases of an emergency, so as to avoid being precipitated 
to the point of a cyber conflict or even devastating military clashes.


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