Chinese cyberthreat

By Aussiegirl
I know I've been posting a lot on China lately, but that's because this is more important than the idiocy being peddled by the media about whether or not Karl Rove whispered sweet nothings in the ear of some reporter about a woman who wasn't even a clandestine agent.

While the American media fiddles and raves on about Abu Graib, the shortage of white gloves available to handle the Koran at GITMO and other matters of earth-shattering import, dangers gather around the world and our government and media seem blissfully unaware or willfully ignorant while they fight over meaningless inanities. Wake up America -- who will remember Karl Rove or Valerie Plame ten years from now?
The American Thinker is emerging as one of the best sites on the internet to get insightful analysis on emerging threats to the U.S.. Read today's article on the Chinese threat to cyberspace.

On numerous occasions in the past, China's authoritarian regime has publicly stated that the U.S. is its ideological enemy. Comments made by Chinese defector Chen Yonglin to Australian authorities in June support the theory that China's leaders view the U.S. as their main adversary.

"The U.S. is considered by the Chinese Communist Party as the largest enemy, the major strategic rival. The U.S. occupies a unique place in China's diplomacy...."

With inflammatory statements like those noted by Chen Yonglin, it is easy to understand why national security questions still resonate in Washington from the December purchase of IBM's PC division by China's largest computer company Lenovo. Although eventually approved by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), critical questions concerning the ultimate use of the company's state-of-the-art computers as they relate to state-sponsored cyber crime and hacking attacks, still remain largely unanswered.

Specifically, could Lenovo computers or other domestic computers be used by Beijing to initiate a coordinated cyber attack against the U.S. to fracture the stability of global financial markets, interrupt international communications, damage interconnected security networks and harm the overall effectiveness and rapid response capabilities of the U.S. military?

If history is any indication, the possibility of such an attack is authentic and should be given serious attention.

Washington should be deeply concerned about the growing possibility of a massive, state-sponsored cyber attack against U.S. interests originating from mainland China. However, the opposite seems to be true. Surprisingly, there seems to be a dangerous lack of leadership, information sharing, structural flexibility and vision in the area of cyber security. "They are ignoring cyber security and it poses an enormous vulnerability," said Edward Lazowska, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington.