http://www.chinasignpost.com/2011/08/a-smoking-cursor-new-window-opens-on-china%E2%80%99s-potential-cyberwarfare-development-cctv-7-program-raises-new-questions-about-beijing%E2%80%99s-support-for-hacking/ By Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins China SignPost 24 August 2011 The positions expressed here are the authors' personal views. They do not represent the U.S. Naval War College, Navy, Department of Defense, or Government, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or estimates of these or any other organizations. Amid growing U.S. concerns of ongoing Chinese cyberattacks, attribution remains the most complex issue. At the open source level at least, it has been hard to find a "smoking cursor." That is, until the broadcast of a recent cyberwarfare program on the military channel of China’s state television network. It appeared to show dated computer screenshots of a Chinese military institute conducting a rudimentary type of cyberattack against a United States-based dissident entity. However modest, ambiguous -- and, from China's perspective, defensive -- this is possibly the first direct piece of visual evidence from an official Chinese government source to undermine Beijing's official claims never to engage in overseas hacking of any kind for government purposes. Clearly, Washington and Beijing have much to discuss candidly here if they are to avoid dangerous strategic tension. What Happened? China Central Television 7 (CCTV-7) is China's official channel for military and agricultural issues. As part of its wide-ranging coverage, every Saturday at 1440-1500 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), CCTV-7 runs a 20-minute program on military S&T developments in China and abroad called "Military Science and Technology." It's always worth watching, given the range of timely topics covered and the detailed analyses offered by Chinese specialists. The 16 July 2011 edition was particularly so. Entitled "The Internet Storm is Coming" (网络风暴来了), as pictured above in a CCTV-7 website screenshot, it begins with a broad discussion of cyberattacks. It highlights a statement by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 4 June 2011. This important international conference was also attended by Gates' Chinese counterpart General Liang Guanglie. Emphasizing that the U.S. was extremely concerned about the cyberattacks that it was continually suffering from, Gates suggested that some attacks could rise to the level of an act of war and prompt the U.S. to respond with force.[1] PRC Military expert Du Wenlong (pictured above) then highlights President Obama's May 2009 remarks in which he emphasized the importance of securing the nation’s digital infrastructure and declared it a strategic national asset. Du explains that Washington would regard some types of cyberattacks as acts of war because modern military operations rely heavily on digital networks and cyberspace: "networks have become the basis for military action and for winning a war."[2] Du appears to be well acquainted with his subject matter, and provides cogent explanations of complex cyber issues. The program proceeds to explain how cyberwarfare may be waged, in both the defensive and offensive dimensions. [...] _____________________________________________________________ Register now for the #HITB2011KUL - Asia's premier deep-knowledge network security event now in it's 9th year! http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2011kul/Received on Thu Aug 25 2011 - 04:13:32 PDT
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