United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created by the United States Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action.

Announcements
9/12/11	Extramural Research Opportunity Offered by the Commission The Commission has publicized a new request for proposals (RFP) for an original research study pertaining to issue areas in the Commission’s statutory mandate. The RFP has also been publicized on the website Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov), with an effective date of Sep. 9th, 2011 and a deadline for receipt of proposals set for Oct. 3rd, 2011. All interested contractors are invited to submit proposals, although the contractor must be registered in the federal Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to the award of any contract. The research project is as follows: Research Report on Chinese Investments in the United States (FBO solicitation USCC-022) Any questions regarding these projects or the Commission’s procedures for contracted research should be directed to: John Dotson, Research Coordinator for the Commission. Telephone: 202-624-1482 / E-mail: jdotson@uscc.gov.
9/12/11	The Commission has released a new staff research report entitled China’s Foreign Assistance in Review. The report details trends in Chinese foreign assistance, including the amount and goals of such funding, whether it meets international aid standards, and its role in major MDBs.
8/31/11	OPEN MEETINGS FOR THE 2011 ANNUAL REPORT REVIEW-EDITING SESSIONS AND RELEASE OF FINAL ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS  Click here to read the final notice of open meetings dates, times and locations.
8/4/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on The Implications of China’s Military and Civil Space Programs is now available. Read the transcript here.
7/22/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on China’s Five Year Plan, Indigenous Innovation, and Outsourcing is now available. Read the transcript here.
7/20/11	The Commission has released a new staff research report entitled The Confucian Revival in the Propaganda Narratives of the Chinese Government. The report details how elements of Confucian philosophy have been revived in official propaganda as part of a larger effort to build ideological support for the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The report also describes some of the ways in which Confucius is being promoted as an icon of China’s traditional culture to both domestic and international audiences. The report concludes that the promotion of selected Confucian teachings is an attempt to provide a pillar of support for authoritarian and paternalistic politics in China, while also presenting a gentler humanist face to audiences both at home and abroad.
7/6/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on China’s Intellectual Property Rights and Indigenous Innovation Policyis now available. Read the transcript here.
7/1/11	The Commission has released a backgrounder entitled The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Delegation Visit to the United States, May 2011: A Summary of Key Actors and Issues. The backgrounder provides an overview of the recent PLA delegation to the United States that marked the restoration of the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship. Participants, site visits, official bilateral agreements and controversial points are discussed.
6/30/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and U.S.-China Bilateral Investmentis now available. Read the transcript here.
6/27/11	The Commission has released a new backgrounder entitled China’s 12th Five-Year Plan. The backgrounder provides an overview of China’s most recent five-year plan, including its special characteristics, key targets, and new industrial initiatives such as the seven strategic emerging industries. The backgrounder also includes expert analysis and critical assessment of China’s 2015 objectives.
6/22/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on China’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Players is now available. Read the transcript here.
6/16/11	The agenda, testimonies, video, and other information from the Commission’s June 15th hearing on China’s Five-Year Plan, Indigenous Innovation and Technology Transfers, and Outsourcing have been posted.
6/3/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on China’s Narratives Regarding National Security Policy is now available. Read the transcript here.
5/31/11	The Commission has released a backgrounder entitled China in Latin America. The backgrounder provides an overview of China’s growing economic and political ties to Latin America over the past ten years. It examines China’s current trade relationship with countries in the region, the scope and nature of China’s foreign direct investment, the extent of its diplomatic, military, and regional organization engagement, and its interaction with Latin American countries that officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country.
5/10/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing and roundtable on China’s Internal Dilemmas is now available. Read the transcript here.
5/5/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its May 11th hearing on “Implications of China’s Military and Civil Space Programs.” See the press release for details.
4/27/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its May 4th hearing on “China’s Intellectual Property Rights and Indigenous Innovation Policy.” See the press release for details.
4/20/11	The Commission has released a new report entitled China’s Program for Science and Technology Modernization: Implications for American Competitiveness, which examines China’s national science and technology programs, assesses linkages between China‘s science policy, its industrial policy and its defense-industrial complex, discusses the methods commonly employed by the PRC to support its scientific modernization through interactions with the United States, and addresses the implications of these programs for US competitiveness.
4/8/11	The USCC hearing on China’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Players is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 13th. In the event that a budget resolution has not been reached by 6 PM on Monday, April 11th, and the government is still shut down, the hearing will be postponed to a later date.
4/6/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its April 13th hearing on “China’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Players.” See the press release for details.
3/30/11	The Commission has released a new report entitled Going Out: An Overview of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment. The paper provides an overview of China’s outward foreign direct investment (ODI), including the rationale behind Chinese ODI, its character and scope, the role of Chinese government in Chinese investment activities, and implications for the United States.
3/28/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its March 30th hearing on “Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and U.S.-China Bilateral Investment.”  See the press release for details.
3/24/11	The transcript from the USCC hearing on China’s Active Defense Strategy and its Regional Impact is now available. Read the transcript here.
3/22/11	The Commission has released a new report entitled Ready for Takeoff: China’s Advancing Aerospace Industy.  Click here to read the press release.
3/17/11	The Commission has released a new report entitled The Evolving Role of China in International Institutions.  Click here to read the press release.
3/3/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its March 10th hearing on “China’s Narratives Regarding National Security Policy.” See the press release for details.
2/8/11	Extramural Research Opportunity Offered by the Commission The Commission has publicized two new requests for proposals (RFP) for original research studies pertaining to issue areas in the Commission’s statutory mandate. The RFPs have also been publicized on the website Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov), with an effective date of Feb. 7th, 2011 and a deadline for receipt of proposals set at Feb. 28th, 2011. All interested contractors are invited to submit proposals, although the contractor must be registered in the federal Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to the award of any contract. The research projects are as follows: Research Report on China’s State-Owned Enterprises and State Capitalism (FBO solicitation USCC-020) Research Report on Patterns in U.S.-China Bilateral Investment (FBO solicitation USCC-021) Any questions regarding these projects or the Commission’s procedures for contracted research should be directed to: John Dotson, Research Coordinator for the Commission. Telephone: 202-624-1482 / E-mail: jdotson@uscc.gov.
2/1/11	Extramural Research Opportunity Offered by the Commission The Commission has publicized a new request for proposals (RFP) for an original research study pertaining to issue areas in the Commission’s statutory mandate. The RFP has also been publicized on the website Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov), with an effective date of Jan. 24th, 2011 and a deadline for receipt of proposals set at Feb. 9th, 2011. All interested contractors are invited to submit proposals, although the contractor must be registered in the federal Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to the award of any contract. The research project is as follows: Research Report on China’s Space Program (FBO solicitation USCC-019) Any questions regarding these projects or the Commission’s procedures for contracted research should be directed to: John Dotson, Research Coordinator for the Commission. Telephone: 202-624-1482 / E-mail: jdotson@uscc.gov.
1/19/11	The Commission has released the agenda for its January 27th hearing on “China’s Active Defense Strategy and its Regional Impacts.” See the press release for details.
1/14/11	Commissioner Larry Wortzel (Ph.D) is scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at 10:30 am on January 19th in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building at the briefing Assessing China’s Behavior and its Impact on U.S. Interests. Read his oral and written testimonies here.
1/11/11	The Commission has announced its first three hearings of 2011: China’s Active Defense Strategy and its Regional Impact – January 27 China’s Internal Dilemmas (Hearing and Roundtable) – February 25 China’s Narratives Regarding National Security Policy – March 10 For more information, please see our 2011 Hearing Schedule.
1/11/11	The USCC releases a new report, The National Security Implications of Investments and Products from the People’s Republic of China in the Telecommunications Sector. Click here to read the press release.
12/16/10	The Commission has announced its leadership for 2011. Click here to read the press release.
11/17/10	Today, the Commission releases its 2010 Annual Report to Congress.  Click here to view the Report. Click here to read Chairman Daniel Slane and Vice Chairman Carolyn Bartholomew’s opening remarks from the press conference.  Click here to read the press release.
11/10/10	The Commission will release its 2010 Annual Report to Congress on November 17, 2010 in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 485 at 10:00am. Read our press release here.
10/04/10	The Commission will hold its fifth 2010 Annual Report Review Session in Room 233 of The Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol Street, NW from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM on October 12, October 13, and October 14, 2010. These sessions are open to the public. Please contact Kathy Michels at kmichels@uscc.gov or (202) 624-1409 if you have any questions. Opening Statement of Chairman Daniel M. Slane (PDF)
9/28/10	Transcript of the July 14 Hearing on The Challenge of China’s Green Technology Policy and Ohio’s Read the Transcript (PDF)
9/22/10	Transcript of the June 30 Hearing on China’s Information Control Practices and the Implications for the United States Read the Transcript (PDF)
9/22/10	On September 22, 2010 Commissioner Michael Wessel testified in a House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs in a hearing: “Made in the USA: Manufacturing Policy, the Defense Industrial Base, and U.S. National Security.” Read his testimony here.
9/2/10	Transcript of the June 9, 2010 Hearing on Evaluating China’s Past and Future Role in the World Trade Organization Read the Transcript (PDF)
8/4/10	The Schedule for the Commission’s 2010 Annual Report writing and review meetings are noted below. Each session is open to the public and will be held at 444 North Capitol Street, NW, Hall of The States, Washington, DC 20001: August 11-12 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Conference Room 233 September 14-15 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Conference Room 233 September 29-30 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Conference Room 231 October 12-14 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Conference Room 233 November 17 Official Release of Annual Report – Location on Capitol Hill will be announced Please contact Kathy Michels at 202-624-1409 or via email at kmichels@uscc.gov if you have any questions.
7/29/10	Notice for USCC Website Regarding New Research Contracts Extramural Research Agreements Awarded in 2010 by the Commission The Commission has awarded contracts to three organizations to perform research studies pertaining to issue areas identified in the Commission’s statutory mandate. The contracts were awarded after competitive evaluation by the Commission’s research committee of proposals that responded to the Requests for Proposals issued by the Commission. They were awarded upon approval by the full Commission. Contracts are now active for all three of these projects as follows: CENTRA Technology, Inc.: Research Report on the National-Level Science Programs of the People’s Republic of China (contract signed May 28th, initial draft expected September 2010) RAND Corporation: Research Report on Developments in the Aerospace Industry of the People’s Republic of China (contract signed July 2nd, initial draft expected October 2010) Economic Strategy Institute: Research Report on the Role of China in International Organizations (contract signed July 6th, initial draft expected October 2010) Questions may be directed to: John Dotson, Research Coordinator for the Commission. Telephone: 202-624-1482 / E-mail: jdotson@uscc.gov.
7/28/10	Transcript of the May 20, 2010 Hearing on “China’s Emergent Military Aerospace and Commercial Aviation Capabilities” Read the Transcript (PDF)
6/3/10	Transcript of the April 8, 2010 Hearing on “China’s Green Energy and Environmental Policies.” Read the Transcript (PDF)
4/22/10	Transcript of the March 18, 2010 Hearing on “Taiwan-China: Recent Economic, Political, and Military Developments across the Strait, and Implications for the United States.” Read the Transcript (PDF)
10/22/09	RELEASE OF RESEARCH REPORT ON “CHINESE CYBER WARFARE & ESPIONAGE”: The Commission has approved for public release a contracted report entitled: Capability of the People’s Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation. The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a decade into a sweeping military modernization program that has transformed its ability to fight high tech wars. A major element of this modernization effort, known as informationization, is guided by the doctrine of fighting “Local War Under Informationized Conditions,” i.e., the People’s Liberation Army’s efforts to develop a fully networked architecture capable of coordinating military operations on land, in air, at sea, in space and across the electromagnetic spectrum…” [Read THE PDF REPORT] The Commission contracted with Northrop Grumman Corporation to produce this report on the basis of a competitive contract awarded in March 2009. Questions regarding this Report or the Commission’s procedures for contracted research should be directed to: John Dotson, Research Coordinator for the Commission. Telephone: 202-624-1482 / E-mail: jdotson@uscc.gov.

via United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Hong Kong Exchange Hacked | Payback For -Operation Shady Rat

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. When someone goes for the Money Shot like this, it looks like a nation state to me. Maybe a message for “Operation Shady RAT.”. Call this a shoot across the bow China. Good Cyber Shot U.S.Seems like the McAfee is getting in the U.S. viewfinder.In a letter to Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research for McAfee and author of the report, Bono Mack requested a briefing with his research team and asked how the government and private sector could more effectively mitigate data breaches. Representative Mary Bono Mack, chairman of the House Commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over cybersecurity, said she was alarmed by the report on a slew of cyber attacks that McAfee has dubbed “Operation Shady RAT.”Operation Shady RAT is an eye sour for the U.S government and China now is telling us that we should decrease our and reduce social programs. China is telling us how to be more financially prudent. Well I think someone in high places just kicked China in the financial teeth.

mEoW – gatoMalo

Charles Li, HKEx chief executive, said the collapse of the website on which local-listed companies announce price sensitive information appeared to be the result of “a malicious attack by outside hacking”. But he said it was unclear who the hackers were or what they hoped to gain from the attack. “We’re digging into that particular question right now.” This is big it makes China look weak so beware China will strike back soon. We should be ready…..

Computer hackers forced the Hong Kong stock exchange’s website to crash, prompting the bourse to suspend trading in the shares of seven companies including HSBC and the exchange operator itself.

The cyberattack, which deprived investors of important announcements from listed companies, came just hours before Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, the world’s largest by market capitalisation, announced its interim results.

HKEx is the second high-profile global exchange to admit to an attack this year after Nasdaq OMX, which owns the second-largest US exchange, said criminals had tried to penetrate a web-based service for customers. In both cases, the exchanges stressed that their trading systems had not been affected.

Charles Li, HKEx chief executive, said the collapse of the website on which local-listed companies announce price sensitive information appeared to be the result of “a malicious attack by outside hacking”. But he said it was unclear who the hackers were or what they hoped to gain from the attack. “We’re digging into that particular question right now.”

HKEx took the decision to suspend trading in the shares of the seven companies that were due to make announcements during the lunch break, including China Power International and Cathay Pacific, the airline. HSBC, the most liquid stock in Hong Kong, was also suspended.

The world’s largest exchanges have improved security following an attack on the Nasdaq, which sparked an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Nasdaq admitted last month it faced “constant attack” from hackers every day.

More

Breaking into an exchange’s trading system would be extremely hard because of the multiple layers of security, according to experts. Many exchanges run their trading operations away from the internet on a separate private network, often with its own computing language.

When its news website was down, HKEx told market participants to obtain listed company announcements through its bulletin board, a back-up website.

The exchange is placing advertisements in Hong Kong newspapers to inform retail investors about the unprecedented situation.

If the website remains unstable on Thursday, the bulletin board will be used to disseminate information but stocks will be not suspended, said Mark Dickens, head of listing at HKEx.

The exchange has drafted in a team of external computer experts to work out how the website was brought down. It has reported the attack to the Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong’s regulator.

The exchange emphasised that its other systems were not affected and trading in its securities and derivatives markets continued to operate normally. The bourse’s core trading systems are not directly connected to the internet, it said.

Over the past few years hackers have been deploying increasingly sophisticated malware to attack the operating systems of companies, exchanges and governments. Sony, the Japanese electronics group, disclosed in April that more than 70m users of its online gaming network had theirpersonal details stolen by hackers.

McAfee, the computer security company, said last week that it had uncovered a five-year long campaign of cyber attacks on the networks of governments, organisations and businesses, including the UN and 13 defence contractors.

HKEx announced profits of about HK$2.6bn (US$333m) in the first half, an increase of 14 per cent compared with the same period last year, in line with analyst expectations. The company’s shares jumped 2.6 per cent before being suspended from trading during the midday break.

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Read More ..> http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f448a9b6-c33a-11e0-9109-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1UeuZDEQP

Read More ..> http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/us-usa-hackers-lawmaker-idUSTRE7795DV20110810

China Attacks USA 4 years ago

Four (4) years ago Scientific America wrote an article about “China Cyber Attacks Signal New Battlefield is Online”. In 2011 we have seen a surge in China’s hacking but why did we not prepare for this when we knew about it for so long. In 2007 they hacked the UK, France and the US. In the article it stated, “China’s military goals are to improve its ability to wage information warfare”. See China Cyber Timeline.

The Chinese were ahead of us back in 2007 and we did nothing about our cyber security. We are arresting young people with no criminal records living in the basements of mom and dad for hacking. How many Chinese have we arrested for hacking, what’s our US-China Trade Statistics? US-China -273.1?  I understand in 2007 we were fighting a war to stop Iraq from deploying WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction). 

We found no WMD in Iraq, but the Chinese were working on offensive cyber weapons to cripple business, communication, power grids and financial services in the USA and this cyber weapon is not classified as a WMD.

Let me get it straight the Chinese have been working in cyberspace since 2007 to learn how to re-route the world’s internet traffic thru it’s borders and steal terra-bytes of data. While we develop a kill switch to cut off the entire Internet by the President. I understand KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) If someone is attacking you thru cyberspace we simply kill all the connection to the outside world. Quarantine the infected systems and then reboot and the USA is back online, cut of from the rest of the world an isolationist dream. This sounds so much like the cold-war fatalistic dogma.

why_hackers_attack_diagram

We can do better than this and everyone can help. If we want to stay on top of cyberspace we need a baseline security standard to be applied to all .gov .edu and all critical C&C (Command & Control) infrastructure. Once the baseline is set we need to adapt and be proactive in our cyber security to be changed quickly to be adaptable to new threats. We need to develop cyber-monitoring capabilities to be able to see cyber attack vector profiles and react quickly. We also need a National disaster recovery plan to ensure recovery in case of an attack. I might ad a cyber forensic team to analyze the attacks and find the bad guys. Last but not least a comprehensive plan to go after the Nation, State, group, corporation or individuals that caused us harm.

Most of this technology exist a lot of it is open-source (free) with a few modifications it can provide a basic infrastructure framework to build on. We need to break the ties to political special interest government contracts to corporation. We need to be adaptable our technology to the changing cyber sphere faster that we have been. We do this by training our future cyber warrior with programs like the Air Force Cyber Patriot Program. There are 10 of thousans if not more of security savvy people here in the good old USA. These people have no real certificate or college degree in Information Security (but who reallybut they know hacking and security. I bet they would volunteer to help America build the tools and infrastructure that’s needed. You have no idea what the open-source community can do, when you get the best geeks in the country to solve a problem.

Once we have everything in place and it works, let’s share the basic model with the world. Let’s prove democracy in cyberspace can work. Let’s show the world we are leaders again. America is still one of the leaders of the free world, let’s work together in cyberspace and help cyber freedom-free speech democracy become real.

Abraham Lincoln said ”of the people, by the people and for the people” It worked for America why not apply this right to “Cyberspace”.

The Arab Spring this year was history the first cyber revolution. The Libyan people have been freed from tyranny and unjust at the hands of Gaddafi without a conventional army, it has change the world. The people of the Arab States with the use of cyberspace, Twitter, Facebook, Crowd Map, computers, game console’s, cell phones, satellites and other technology made their voices heard. The dreamers that created social networks companies must feel very proud they have changed the world as we know it. Does anyone know how many lives were saved during the first cyber revolution? The destruction of conventional modern war even an internal revolution leaves scars on the country, infrastructure but most important, it leaves a scar on the people and children’s very soul. I know I was one. Our technology, cyberspace, the Internet, the Web saved a generation of children from the cruelty and horrors of war. We American should be proud of the world we help create we saved lives. We also scared the people in power. When a regiene is toppeled by people using nothing more than a cell phones leaders get a little bit worried and maybe the’ll do a better job. 

As I watch the political debate about the Debt Ceiling Bill and the lack of do nothing but toot my own “political” horn. This political game is why the Chinese are almost ahead of us in cyber space and stealing our stuff and manufacturing electronic components with backdoor to the Internet. Wake up American let’s educate our public officials to the freedom of speech on the Internet, lets VOTE. Let’s make sure our Senators and Congressman understand and educate them on Cyber Security (I can supply some links –write me). I’m a veteran and I don’t like wars, but if you’re going to put me in the warzone (Let me borrow this from Ms. Palin) “Don’t Retreat, Instead Reload”. Civilian Militia now live in Cyberspace look at the Jester’s war against Lulzsec the current  Hacktivist cyber war. (Ex-Military “Good Hacker” Identifies LulzSec Leader “Sabu”). This war is live on social networks feeding news organizations around the world. LOL  

Cyberspace belongs to the people. We the people need to keep it free and open, let’s not wait another 4 years to be better at information warfare.

My 2© cents – gatoMalo_at_uscyberlabs_dot_com

http://USCyberLabs.com/blog/

http://ChinaCyberWarfare.wordpress.com

http://HacktivistBlog.wordpress.com/

via China’s Cyber Attacks Signal New Battlefield Is Online: Scientific American.2007

via US Cyber Labs – Blog.

Cyber War Games: U.S. Versus China

 

 

Cyber warfare is one form of espionage that is currently being waged between the U.S. and China. In the event of a full-scale conflict, how would this war be fought, and who would win the war? – David Wise (of big think) an intelligence expert does an excellent job of explaining the 5th Battlefield CyberSpace.  David explains who has an upper hand in this US vs China Cyberspace battle. The United States is well aware of it’s own vulnerable infrastructure our electric grid, our communication networks and aviation grid. We as other governments are a highly industrialized society. China is becoming more and economic power so they in turn are vulnerable. China has been involved in hacking over 33 different companies in the US. The US is doing some of it’s own hacking we we don’t hear about it because were dam good.  (The State department released that CHina’s SCADA system has major security problems).

David does make it clear that we don’t know who these hacker are sometimes a kid playing in his bedroom or a national government in Estonia making belive there in CHina or any other place. It easy to hide in the internet. This makes it difficult to say “Yes” it the Chinese government doing this and that we can’t be sure. David and I agree that dealing with China a communist country is difficult. China is a growing economic power base it need Cyberspace to grow. China is enjoying the money and its need to keep the Internet open to do business, this will also enable it’s people to become free in cyberspace.

This is an excellent Video David Wise is great. –my 2 cents- gatomalo

big_Think Youtube Channel See More > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri20T5Dlggg

Cyber Capabilities of China |USCyberLabs

From a speech I gave @JIU –

Cyber Capabilities of China

Good Day, my name is GaTo MaLo and I have worked in the IT world of corporate America for fortune 100 companies for over 35 years. In this presentation I hope to explain the state of China as an Internet Cyber Security leader. In today’s economy every government in the world is dealing with the Internet and Cyber Space. The Internet is were commerce happens, we go to our social networks, we find that ice cream shop that everyone is talking about, go out and get ice cream for the family. Cyber space is were the hackers that are stealing your credit card that you just used to buy ice cream for the family. Hackers are also stealing top-secret technology from our government and our corporation. As I compiled the China Cyber Timeline Project (Chinese Hacker-Cyber Timeline🙂 it was easy to connect the dots and see when China started its cyber push as a way to gain intellectual property, technology secrets, political and military secrets. The reason they are making headlines is because they are not very good and are getting caught.

Hacker Moto: -be hidden, be silent, listen and don’t get DOX (documented-revealed).

1. Let’s take a look at their Offensive Capabilities.

From January-2010 to June-2011 China had the fastest Super Computer in the world on June 23, 2011 Japan became the new holder of the fastest super computer in the world, the US is in the top 5 but this alone shows what China can do in cyber space, the New York Times reported. China has now Nationalized Hacker groups to go out and hack making them patriot of the new Chinese (Digital Dragon-Warriors). China now has cyber spy schools popping up all over the place. China has also recently announced to have a cyber team called “PLA Online Blue Team” which is in charge of cyber espionage and intelligence for national security purpose and attacks on the 5^th Battlefield (land, sea, air, space, cyber space), the Associated Press reported 2011. One of the key espionage and intelligence hacks come from the Chinese city of Jinan. It has over 6 million people, 12 Universities and a High Tech technology Zones for companies. It’s also the center for China’s PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) cyber warfare college and home to the “PLA-Online Blue Team”.

The city of Jinan, China – was traced back as the center of the Google e-mail attacks. And this is just one modern new City, as China grows every day new centers of technology will give China the technology to do almost anything they want in Cyber Space.

The only thing that is keeping China from going full out is “communism paranoia” they distrust everything not created internally. And they do not have the manpower today to fix it. China has fears that software & hardware that is created outside of China may have back doors.  In July 15, 2011 –The US State department released information that hardware computer components manufactured abroad have embedded back door to the Internet that’s design to defeats security anti-virus software. China may be right. China been hard at work manufacturing our electronics and shipping them to the rest of the world. Made in China = “Zombie Computer”

1. What are China’s Defensive Cyber Capabilities?

China has a big problem they lack the manpower to do everything they want to do in cyber space. They have people but they lack the education that is needed in high-tech areas.

China’s fear of all software and hardware not created in China is another big problem. For example the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) computer systems that monitor Power Stations. The US DHS (Department of Homeland Security) announce that China’s SCADA software has major flaws. The US told the world of the problems now everyone in Cyber Space knows. Hacker groups like Anonymous and LutzSec may attack them now.

1. What are the International Laws preventing Cyber Warfare or Espionage?

Cyber Space is getting more and more complicated. In one group of maybe 10 people [LulzSec] from all over the world. They never met face to face. Then hacked into all kind of government and private companies and nobody can find them. And so the LulzSec legend begins.

Since there are no International laws and hackers are even hacking international police like MI5, FBI and Interpol each country must do what it can to protect it self.

1. 4.    What can the USA do to protect itself from Cyber Warfare?

 

President Obama has signed executive orders outlining how far the United States military can go when launching cyber-attacks and other cyber-operations against enemies and as part of routine espionage activities, the Associated Press reported June 22. Since we have no International Cyber Laws every country has to protect itself. We as a Nation can reach individual treaties with different countries to make sure everyone knows the rules and in time we will see laws catching up to Cyber Space not until them, we must apply good cyber security to every aspect of our lives.

1. 5.    Conclusions:

As you can see even in a country like China a communist country today with a little education and lot’s of money they can gain access to the Internet and hack information about a country a corporation or an individual and cause great harm. If a foreign government can hack your financial system your country could go into a recession. Today Chinese nationalized hacker group can hack our Smart Grip (Electricity). Shutting everything down all the power in the eastern or western states.

Anyone of these scenarios could happen and some have happened already. America has to find and implement cyber International policies to prevent this. If cyber attacks happened we must react quickly and have a solid disaster recovery plan, repair the problems and implement retaliation against the perpetrator even if it’s China.

 

Thanks you for your time I hope I shared something interesting

 

Reference: HAND – OUT’S

Chinese Hacker-Cyber Timeline:

Made in China has a new meaning – Trojan IC Chips that allow Cyber Attack.

By gatomalo@uscyberlabs.com     – July 9, 2011

Department of Homeland Officials acknowledge on Thursday that some foreign-made components in American electronics devices have been found to be pre-design to allow cyber-attacks.

After repeated questioning by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, Schaffer admitted that officials are aware of such tampering. The question of so-called “supply chain” security is controversial, given that many electronic components are manufactured overseas, but it is still unclear how pervasive the problem may be.

“Counterfeit products have created the most visible supply problems, but few documented examples exist of unambiguous, deliberate subversions,” the White House’s Cyberspace Policy Review says.

As corporations send more  manufacturing to China the Chinese are putting a little something extra in our electronic devices like “Trojan Chips” that spoofs our security. Vulnerabilities could be introduced in the course of manufacturing equipment or create counterfeit goods. This vulnerability is more dangerous because it’s hardwired into the physical infrastructure. If computer servers and routers that run our internet have these “Trojan Chips” installed all the security measures you throw at it is worthless the back door is wide open.

China and Cybersecurity: Trojan Chips and U.S.–Chinese Relations May 5, 2011

Now imagine these servers and routers installed in our banks, power grids, governments and our phones-communications infrastructure. The country that operates these devices can at anytime confuse them and watch everyone go crazy or just turn them off. If my daughter cannot use her cell phone which is glued to her hand she would go crazy. If somebody can turn off or scramble the routers that control the financial district in lower Manhattan Wall Street would be in shambles and so would the world financial services all over the world.

How can we fight this problem, simple put America back to work we need to do our own manufacturing especially in high technology sector. Before (10 years ago) we controlled the knowledge but other countries like China,Russia and others have stolen the technology and some have a good manufacturing base thanks to US companies and tax payer.

Our government needs to tax and go after the companies that allow profits to come before our country’s citizens safety and security. Despite the risk, the White House plan does not aim to blame specific suppliers. “A broad, holistic approach to risk management is required rather than a wholesale condemnation of foreign products and services,” it recommends.

Schaffer was one of four top administration officials on hand Thursday to testify about the White House policy proposal, which calls for more information-sharing between private industry and government agencies and modifying the Federal Information Security Management Act to require continuous monitoring of government networks.

Ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., voiced concern that the information-sharing provision could open the door to abuse.

“I agree that we should encourage information-sharing between industry and government, but we also have to be careful that personally identifiable information is appropriately protected and shared with the government only when necessary,” Cummings said. Cummins also said  “It is important that the official responsible for implementing FISMA [the Federal Information Security Management Act] have the authority to task all civilian departments and agencies with implementation of the federal security standards,”

I love Elijah Cummings, D-Md but FISMA should be the baseline of government cyber security policy. On top of that we need the help of our citizen cyber warriors to step up to the plate and help America. One thing that China does right is it

Nationalize it’s Cyber Groups to help China. We need to do a better job with our hackers like Anonymous and #antisec there are people in those groups that will help our government if we simply ask them. It’s kinda nice to be respected for what you know and do these people have no university degree’s they learn on their own and I respect that. These cyber warrior are our future, so let’s treat them a little better. I may not agree with them on some points but I agree that if you do not protect your users information you need a wake up call to do the legal and right thing and spend the money and protect  your customers information (DATA). Hay I hear that there are a lot of people unemployed – put America back to work as Cyber Warrior – America what a wonderful country I love it.

Later,

GatoMalo@USCyberlabs.com

Chinese Cyber Blue Team is Here to Stay | China’s economic development and social stability

The Chinese PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) now has a cyber “Blue Team” that can use cyber space as the new frontier for warfare.

The US and China defense policies are changing. The (Cyber Blue Team, 2011) is based in Jinan, China where there are 12 Universities and a high tech zone and boast 6 million people. It’s also the headquarter of the PLA. The squad is aimed at carrying out attacks on other countries Internet. (Li Li, 2011), a military expert at the National Defense University said, “China’s Online Blue Army is currently at its fledging period.  (Zhang Shaozhong, 2011), a military expert from the PLA said, “Just like the army and air forces, the ‘online blue army’ is a historical necessity. The reason is very simple. “We must adapt to the new types of warfare in the information era. The ‘online blue army’ is of great strategic significance to China’s economic development and social stability,” Teng Jianqun, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said.

The Internet has the potential to transform Chinese  (Jones E-Library, 2011) society and politics. Cyber Space is the next front lines for military operations.

Consider the US (US cyber attack Iraq, 2003) prior to invasion the US froze Saddam Hussein’s bank account and disable the country’s financial and communication system before a shot was ever fired. Cyber Warfare is a first strike capabilities weapon and it can be a deterrent if used wisely. China wants’ to be able to do the things it’s cyber brothers can do and who could blame them. The truth be told China has a bad cyber infrastructure and we are hacking them all the time. DHS (disclosed china secrets, 2011) the US told the world that China had some major security holes. Now the whole hacking communities (lulzsec and anonymous) know about China’s problems. This is a shot at the bow of the Chinese government to stop hacking the US or we are going to hack you.

It is a fact that Russia and others are quietly going about cyber intelligence and espionage but they are good so nobody hears about them but they are out there. When China get’s it’s Cyber Blue Team going strong we will not hear a sound about China then the Cyber warfare has really started and there is no way back. The Internet is here to stay and to government like China this an essential weapon to be a world player in cyber space.

later,

gatomalo_at_USCyberLabs_dot_com

Brainstorming on China – Notes to Myself

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304259304576380034225081432.html#ixzz1P4pGbO21

 This new hit on the IMF involved significant reconnaissance prior to the attack, and code written specifically to penetrate the IMF. We got G-Mail accounts of government officials then RSA hacked and the attack on Lockheed Martin. Connect the Dots people be aware of what is going on around. We got Wikileaks, Anonymous, LulzSec all a distraction to the real Cyber War.

Is it China I just don’t get it. Here is a picture of my madness.