New U.S. Intel. Report Officially Takes Shots at Russia and China For Cyber Attacks
- Posted on November 3, 2011 at 2:08pm by
Buck Sexton
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(The Blaze/AP) – Cyberattacks by Chinese and Russian intelligence services, as well corporate hackers in those countries, have swallowed up large amounts of high-tech American research and development data, and that stolen information has helped build their economies, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded.
The report, offering the first such detailed public accusations from U.S. officials, said computer attacks by foreign governments are on the rise and represent a “persistent threat to U.S. economic security.”
Assessing the implications, the report said “the governments of China and Russia will remain aggressive and capable collectors of sensitive U.S. economic information and technologies, particularly in cyberspace.”
For years, experts and officials have complained about cyberattacks emanating from China. But this report, released Thursday, provides some of the sharpest and most direct criticism from the U.S. government about those intrusions.
A senior U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the report before its public release, said the Chinese and Russians are using the high-tech espionage to boost their own development.
Despite the broad accusations, neither the report nor the U.S. officials offered many details about the Chinese or Russian cyber-attacks. They also did not say how many of the attacks are government-sponsored. While they said attacks can be traced to the two countries, they noted that identifying the exact culprit is difficult.
China had no immediate response to the report, which was issued well after working hours Thursday in Beijing.
However, China has consistently denied engaging in cyberspying and, at a regularly scheduled news briefing Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated Beijing’s insistence that it, too, has been attacked.
“China is a major victim of hacking,” Hong said. “China is ready to build, together with other countries, a peaceful, secure and open cyberspace order.”
He added, “As for the remarks from certain quarters, I would point out that hacking attacks have no boundaries and are anonymous. Speculating on the origin of the attacks without investigation is neither professional or responsible.”
The report did note several instances in the past year or so where cybersecurity experts have traced attacks to Internet protocol addresses in China but were unable to determine exactly who was behind them.
Among the examples were the breach of Google’s networks in January 2010 and an instance where data was stolen from a Fortune 500 manufacturing company during business negotiations when the company was trying to buy a Chinese firm.
Officials said the National Science Foundation has put the value of public and private research and development at about $400 billion in 2009, and the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that as much as $50 billion was lost due to espionage, cyber-attacks and other counterfeit and trademark crimes. Officials said they could not determine how much of the total was lost due to cyber-attacks.
The report is part of an increasing drumbeat by U.S. officials about the risks of cyberattacks in a growing high-tech society. People, businesses and governments are storing an increasing amount of valuable and sensitive information online or accessing data through mobile devices that may not be as secure as some computers.
The Obama administration has tried to raise the level of awareness about these threats so individuals and the corporate world will better protect their data.
In the report, officials said foreign intelligence services have used independent hackers as proxies, thereby giving the agencies “plausible deniability.”
It also accused the Chinese of being “the world’s most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage.”
Attacks from Russia are a “distant second” to those from China, according to the report. But it said Moscow’s intelligence services are “conducting a range of activities to collect economic information and technology from U.S. targets.”
Officials said other nations they would not name are also suspect, and the report suggested that U.S. allies may be using their access to American institutions to acquire economic and technology information.
The report said some of the most desired data includes communications and military technologies, clean energy, health care, pharmaceuticals and information about scarce natural resources. Of particular note, the report said, is interest in unmanned aircraft and other aerospace technology.
U.S. officials have called for greater communication about cyberthreats among the government, intelligence agencies and the private sector, which owns or controls as much as 85 percent of computer networks. The Pentagon has begun a pilot program that is working with a group of defense contractors to help detect and block cyberattacks.
The report, issued by the national intelligence director’s office of the counterintelligence executive, comes out every two years and includes information from 14 spy agencies, academics and other experts.
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THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 11:11pmIt’s ironic that these idiots in charge of the U.S don‘t like what these countries are doing but they think nothing of trampling on it’s own citizens and stealing every bit of our personal information as possible, not to mention the fact they have invaded every area of our privacy under the guise of fighting terrorism.
Report Post »philipzhao
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 10:11pmThe Communists inside USA are more communistic than Chinese communists. They are the ones trying to topple the USA from within!!!
Report Post »KICKILLEGALSOUT
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 9:55pmPeople praise the glories of China’s “miracle” economy. The only thing that is a miracle is how long our corrupt politicians have allowed Chinese spies inside and outside our country to steal trillions worth of R&D and technology to copy and rapidly develop their economy on our backs. What do we do in return, we teach them, train them, allow record numbers of Chinese foreign nationals to flood our schools, allow their corrupt money to buy up our land and property and start colonizing our country for their own, they have a stranglehold on our markets with made in China products and we are running tens of billions of dollars deficits every month with them. DON’T aid the Chinese! You don’t know who they really are. Boycott their products, boycott their businesses, don’t hire them unless you want to be used and your ideas and technology stolen. China, Islam, and Illegal immigration is the trinity of evil attacking America, we need to step into reality, band together as a country and fight back!
Report Post »paulusmaximus
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:29pmWe represent the only free willed people let in the world, China and Russia would love to see us toppled. But sadly so do a large number of American citizens and are willing to surrender the information these need to attack us.Pray for your country!!!
Report Post »TiocFaidhArLa
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 7:58pmOk people, educate yourselves. Nothing in our defense or any part of Government can be controlled via the internet. this is a ploy to filter our internet like the Communist chinese and the
Report Post »Socialist Europeans have done.
IndyNWguy
Posted on November 4, 2011 at 1:16pmGod I wish you were right. Sadly, I have some experience in that world, and America’s defenses are incredibly vulnerable to cyber attacks, not to mention every other aspect of government. No, this is a cause for real concern.
Report Post »What this report fails to mention is that the number one nation on the planet (in terms of cyber warfare) is actually the US. The report also fails to mention that (and I know this for a fact because I have first-hand experience here) the US government, military, and DHS, have all had an opportunity to play with a technology that would stop 100% of cyber threats. Yeah, its out there. In defense of the government, the company that makes this technology hasn’t been able to create a delivery system that is convenient for a business environment. Now, that defense is pretty weak when you consider that this government has blown huge sums of money on energy technologies that either don’t work, or can’t compete.
I guess my point is that this article is little more than a partial truth, but the problem is extremely real and very threatening.
Free2speakRN
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 7:20pmWhy don’t we go after China, besides a war? We OWE them Money! And we have too many businesses of our own Over There. We are Dependant on them. Just as we are on the Mid-East We can’t continue like this. We gotta ‘drill baby drill’, in a prudent way, even if it ‘sounds’ terrible to libs. Change the Tax Code to get business back to the states. America was built on self-sufficentcy. As a nation and as individuals. And Charity!!!
Report Post »ROE-SMELLIN
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 4:19pmWell at least they are not blaming the brave baby-bombing muslime
Report Post »freedom fighting mens for this! Hafta go, I smell my husband coming.
Bernard
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:53pmWhy don’t we attack them back using cyber space? why don’t we jam their computer networks to push the issue into an international case. Why do we simply report of their illegal intrusive spying without any retaliation? We have that power but I believe that wimp in the White house will not enact any national action against these nations. Instead I believe President Obama is encouraging this.
Report Post »Remember he did give to Russia, military secrets of Britain, our long standing ally.
Meyvn
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:52pmGo get ‘em. But hey you morons… Our critical systems SHOULD NOT BE ON THE NET. Wise up!
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:42pmWhy does this Administration keep considering these countries to be our friend? Friends don’t hack and steal from each other. Quit giving China our manufacturing secrets and jobs.
Report Post »Vechorik
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 4:23pm…and quit giving China FOREIGN AID!
Report Post »Vechorik
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 4:29pm…Which reminds me. Did you know that Herman Cain doesn’t KNOW THAT CHINA ALREADY HAS NUKES, Mr. Cain thinks China is trying to develop nukes. Yep — here’s a video of him talking about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5HiIgbHAzQ
Report Post »KICKILLEGALSOUT
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 9:57pmMr. Cain knows China has nukes, what he is referring to is that China is secretly building MORE nukes and more powerful ones, meanwhile Obama is dismantling and getting rid of all our weapons.
Report Post »sndrman
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:40pmisn’t it a liberal,socialist and yes even a radical thought that since the liberal thinking is everything should be on an equal fiooting why wouldn’t they give our secrets aways?these liberals have been undermining us(AMERICA) for a long time and now they have a socialist in chief so everything moves at a faster rate now….hurt hurt hurt American business,our /gov’t etc……it all makes sense.
Report Post »Rodster
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:28pmI don’t doubt any of this for a minute. I still get chills from the Halloween show on GBTV where one of the guest mentioned EMP’s being launched at the US and shutting down the complete US infrastructure.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:33pmAt least they won’t be able to hack us then…
Report Post »Come to think of it… if Iran did an EMP on us that SHOULD really piss off China and Russia… no more hacking. I wonder if both would punish Iran or any other Country that did an EMP on the USA?
The-Monk
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 3:24pmWith our Colleges and Universities pumping out socialist idiots, the WH shutting down NASA, our corporations moving to other Countries…. in a few years there will be no need to worry about hacking. We won’t have anything anyone will want!
Report Post »TiocFaidhArLa
Posted on November 3, 2011 at 8:10pmnasa is a slush fund We spend billions of dollars shootin **** into space when it could be spent here.
Report Post »