US - China 'arms race' on the internet

China's Ministry of Defense admitted for the first time to establish an elite special force to deal with cyberattacks. Meanwhile, the US Cyber ​​Security Command has been in operation since late 2010.

Considered the core of the network security team of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Cyber ​​Blue Team special forces include 30 excellent experts, recruiting from many sources inside and outside the army. team, placed under the command of Guangdong Military Command.

Ke eight ounces, the pound

Although it was revealed last week, in fact, Cyber ​​Blue Team has officially existed for about two years, and the plan for this force has been discussed by PLA for more than a decade.

The words 'Cyber ​​Wa r' flashes on the screen at a conference
Network security organized by the US (Photo: AFP / Physorg ).

Tens of millions of yuan (millions of dollars) have been invested in Cyber ​​Blue Team, although according to a Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesman, this is just a "temporary program, to improve the ability. China's defense 'before the online conspiracy.

On the US side , also for defense reasons, in June 2010, the US Department of Defense announced the establishment of a Network Security Command ( USCYBERCOM ), and by October, the agency began operations. USCYBERCOM's first year budget is $ 120 million.

With about 1,000 civilian and military personnel, the agency is assigned three main tasks: to protect the defense information network, carry out online campaigns on orders and be prepared to defend the freedom of the United States. in cyber activities. USCYBERCOM's platform is the network security units of the Hai, Luc, Air Force and US Marines.

Confrontation on virtual battlefields

One of the reasons for the creation of the US Cyber ​​Security Command is the growing concern about intelligence and cybercrime that the US side is carrying a lot of China. General Keith B. Alexander's report, USCYBERCOM commander sent the US House of Military Commission in May 2010 to write ' T Quoc Quoc is considered to be the source of many attacks on Western infrastructure, but just recently is the US grid. If it's determined to be an organized attack, I want to solve them from the root . '

The annual report assessing the development of China's security and defense in 2010 submitted by the US Department of Defense revealed that 'the PLA has established information war units to develop network and network attack viruses. enemy computer ' .

According to US allegations, Chinese cyber intelligence took advantage of security holes on websites, emailed malware attachments to track internet users' activities, steal important information files, read stealing mail content, using rootkits to remove traces, making the victim unaware that their data has been compromised. The subject of attack includes both military and commercial objectives, especially in areas where China lags behind the US.

The report published by the Central-American Economic and Security Commission in November 2008 said that in 2007, the 10 largest defense contractors in the US, including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, became victims. Multiplication of network intelligence. In January 2010, more than 30 major US companies, most of them in the high-tech sector, were attacked by Chinese hackers.

Some of America's leading cybersecurity experts, including John Michael McConnell, former director of the National Security Agency, said that if the country did not take appropriate steps, they could lose the war. compete with China.

However, the Chinese side said that they were the biggest victims of online attack. Zhou Yonglin, a leader of the China National Computer Network Emergency Response Center, accused US hackers of causing 16.1% of trojan attacks aimed at Chinese IP addresses in 2009. .

According to Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China National University University , the US establishment of a cyber security command could spark an arms race on the Internet.