China denies launching cyberattacks on US but ...
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China condemns US hacking report
BBC
![Twelve-storey building in Pudong, Shanghai]()
The BBC's John Sudworth was detained while filming the reported hub of the hacking operation
![Satellite image showing the office building in Shanghai suspected of being the headquarters of the Chinese hackers]()
The US says it has repeatedly raised concerns with Beijing about cyber theft, as a report linked a hacking group with a Chinese military unit.
While not commenting directly on the report, a White House spokesman called cyber theft a "major challenge" in the national security arena.
The report identified a Shanghai high-rise used by the military as the likely home of a prolific hacking group.
China's Defence Ministry has denied any role in hacking.
Cyber sabotage, including hacking, was banned, China Daily quoted the ministry as saying, sentiments echoed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
![image of Jonathan Marcus]()
Jonathan Marcus BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
The scale of the Chinese hacking alleged by the computer security firm Mandiant is striking. Until now the bulk of this hacking has been a digital version of old-fashioned industrial espionage - stealing designs and company secrets.
But there is a more sinister side to this activity as well. Chinese hackers are alleged to have a growing interest in gaining access to key parts of the US infrastructure - gas lines, power grids and waterworks. President Barack Obama himself warned during his recent State of the Union address that the nature of the cyber threat was changing.
Gaining access to critical systems is the key. Once inside the digital perimeter - especially if the intrusion is not identified, there is the possibility of causing real physical damage to the infrastructure that the computers control.Hacking attacks were transnational and anonymous, he added. "Determining their origins are extremely difficult. We don't know how the evidence in this so-called report can be tenable."
'Cyber espionage'
The detailed report, by US-based computer security company Mandiant, looked at hundreds of data breaches, most of which it attributed to what it termed "Advanced Persistent Threat" actors.
![Table showing the industries most often targeted by the hackers]()
APT1, it said, was staffed by hundreds of proficient English speakers. It had hacked into 141 companies across 20 industries, stealing information including blueprints, business plans, pricing documents, user credentials, emails and contact lists.
![Satellite image showing the office building in Shanghai suspected of being the headquarters of the Chinese hackers]()
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This 12-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai is the headquarters of Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army. China’s defense ministry has denied that it is responsible for initiating digital attacks. (New York Times)
China’s Ministry of National Defense quickly denied charges outlined in a widely circulated report from information security firm Mandiant that exposed a specific unit of the People’s Liberation Army as responsible forhacking against the U.S. and other countries.
Reuters reports a statement published on the Ministry’s official website called into question the evidence put forth by The New York Times, saying, “The report, in only relying on linking IP address to reach a conclusion thehacking attacks originated from China, lacks technical proof.”
Well, thanks to the shrewd detective work of Chinese netizens, we now have further evidence–a 2004 notice, still viewable on the website of Zhejiang University (at the time of this article’s publication), titled “China’s People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398 Recruiting Graduate Students” [zh].
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We don't support cyber-attacks: Chinese military
China's military on Wednesday said the country's armed forces had never backed any hacking activities and denounced as "groundless both in facts and legal basis" US cybersecurity firm Mandiant's report that it was behind cyber-attacks against US companies.
China's laws ban any activities disrupting cyber security and Chinese government always cracks down on cyber crimes, Geng Yansheng, spokesman with Ministry of National Defense, said at a briefing.
Mandiant Monday released a report which alleged that a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai was behind years of cyber-attacks against US companies, reported Xinhua.
The spokesman said Mandiant's report was groundless because the report came into the conclusion that the source of attack came from China only with the discovery that attacks were linked to IP addresses based in China.
First, as known to all, it is a common sense and method on the Internet to conduct hacking attacks by peculating IP addresses, the spokesman said. "It happens almost everyday."
Second, there has been no clear and consistent definition on cyber-attacks around the world. The report is lack of legal basis to assert cyber espionage only by collecting some routine cyber activities, Geng said.
Third, cyber-attack is transnational, anonymous and deceptive with its source often difficult to be identified. Releasing irresponsible information will not help solve problems, he said.
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It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, tons of friends, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. When Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.
This is the true story of one girl's determination to hold her family together during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century.
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China security officers chase CNN crew
China condemns US hacking report
BBC
BBC reporter detained investigating China's military secretive branch of Hacking
 | BBC reporter detained investigating China hacking BBC reporter detained investigating China hacking BBC reporter detained investigating China hacking A secretive branch of China's military is most likely one of the world's "most prolific cyber espionage groups", a US cyber security firm has said. Mandiant said it had traced the hacking activities of APT1 to the site of a 12-storey building in the Pudong area of Shanghai. The BBC's John Sudworth went along to investigate but was stopped and briefly detained. |
While not commenting directly on the report, a White House spokesman called cyber theft a "major challenge" in the national security arena.
The report identified a Shanghai high-rise used by the military as the likely home of a prolific hacking group.
China's Defence Ministry has denied any role in hacking.
Cyber sabotage, including hacking, was banned, China Daily quoted the ministry as saying, sentiments echoed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
CNN - China is attacking the US - Hacking scale 'we've never seen before'
 | CNN - China is attacking the US - Hacking scale 'we've never seen before' Hacking scale 'we've never seen before' Security firm Mandiant says 'China is attacking the US' and that the firm has released the proof. |
BBC World News: China denies hacking & cyber warfare claims of US firm Mandiant 19 Feb 2013 2301
 | The White House says its has raised concerns with China "at the highest levels about cyber theft" and hacking attacks - that it's claimed are coming from there. An American computer security company has alleged a military unit in China is behind the cyber strikes - having traced them to it's building - although Beijing has strongly denied the claim. This as Apple becomes the latest big company to admit it's been a victim of computer hacking. . Jonathan Josephs reports. |
Analysis
Jonathan Marcus BBC Diplomatic CorrespondentThe scale of the Chinese hacking alleged by the computer security firm Mandiant is striking. Until now the bulk of this hacking has been a digital version of old-fashioned industrial espionage - stealing designs and company secrets.
But there is a more sinister side to this activity as well. Chinese hackers are alleged to have a growing interest in gaining access to key parts of the US infrastructure - gas lines, power grids and waterworks. President Barack Obama himself warned during his recent State of the Union address that the nature of the cyber threat was changing.
Gaining access to critical systems is the key. Once inside the digital perimeter - especially if the intrusion is not identified, there is the possibility of causing real physical damage to the infrastructure that the computers control.
'Cyber espionage'
The detailed report, by US-based computer security company Mandiant, looked at hundreds of data breaches, most of which it attributed to what it termed "Advanced Persistent Threat" actors.
The details it had uncovered, it said, showed that these groups were based primarily in China and that the Beijing government was aware of them.
The most prolific of these actors was APT1, Mandiant said, describing it as "one of the most prolific cyber espionage groups in terms of the sheer quantity of information stolen".
The firm said it had traced the hacking activities of APT1 to a Shanghai building. Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army "is also located in precisely the same area" and the actors had similar "missions, capabilities and resources", it added.
APT1, it said, was staffed by hundreds of proficient English speakers. It had hacked into 141 companies across 20 industries, stealing information including blueprints, business plans, pricing documents, user credentials, emails and contact lists.
Spokesman Jay Carney said the White House was "aware" of the Mandiant report and its contents. While not commenting directly, he described cyber espionage as a "very important challenge".
"We have repeatedly raised our concerns at the highest levels about cyber-theft with senior Chinese officials including in the military and we will continue to do so," he said.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, meanwhile, said that the issue came up ""in virtually every meeting we have with Chinese officials".
"We consider this kind of activity a threat not only to our national security but also to our economic interests and [we are] laying out our concerns specifically so that we can see if there's a path forward," she said.
China has long been suspected of a role in cyber hacking. But the issue has become more high-profile in recent months following widely reported hacks into media outlets including the New York Times - in that case apparently linked to a report on the wealth of relatives of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao.
Hackers have been 'let off the leash' by Chinese government
Cybersecurity expert Dr James Lewis says China's central leadership have effectively "blessed" the hacking activities that stole massive amounts of information from military contractors, energy companies and other industries in the US.
PLA Unit 61398 Recruitment Notice Found
This 12-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai is the headquarters of Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army. China’s defense ministry has denied that it is responsible for initiating digital attacks. (New York Times)Reuters reports a statement published on the Ministry’s official website called into question the evidence put forth by The New York Times, saying, “The report, in only relying on linking IP address to reach a conclusion thehacking attacks originated from China, lacks technical proof.”
Well, thanks to the shrewd detective work of Chinese netizens, we now have further evidence–a 2004 notice, still viewable on the website of Zhejiang University (at the time of this article’s publication), titled “China’s People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398 Recruiting Graduate Students” [zh].
The Graduate School has received notice that Unit 61398 of China’s People’s Liberation Army (located in Pudong District, Shanghai) seeks to recruit 2003-class computer science graduate students. Students who sign the service contract will receive a 5,000 yuan per year National Defense Scholarship. After graduation, students will work in the same field within the PLA.
Interested Zhejiang University 2003-class graduate students should please contact Teacher Peng in the Graduate Division before May 20. (Cao Guangbiao room 108; phone: 87952168)
Graduate Division
May 13, 2004
Via CDT Chinese. Translated by Little Bluegill.
© Little Bluegill for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013
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Is China's Military Behind Cyber Attacks?
 | Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Mandiant Corp CEO and Founder Kevin Mandia and Bloomberg Contributing Editor Richard Falkenrath discuss the risks from Chinese hacking and cyber attacks. They speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg) |
China's laws ban any activities disrupting cyber security and Chinese government always cracks down on cyber crimes, Geng Yansheng, spokesman with Ministry of National Defense, said at a briefing.
Mandiant Monday released a report which alleged that a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai was behind years of cyber-attacks against US companies, reported Xinhua.
The spokesman said Mandiant's report was groundless because the report came into the conclusion that the source of attack came from China only with the discovery that attacks were linked to IP addresses based in China.
First, as known to all, it is a common sense and method on the Internet to conduct hacking attacks by peculating IP addresses, the spokesman said. "It happens almost everyday."
Second, there has been no clear and consistent definition on cyber-attacks around the world. The report is lack of legal basis to assert cyber espionage only by collecting some routine cyber activities, Geng said.
Third, cyber-attack is transnational, anonymous and deceptive with its source often difficult to be identified. Releasing irresponsible information will not help solve problems, he said.
Read More @ Times of India
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a girl could want: brains, tons of friends, and a bright future in Communist China. But it's also the year that China's leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. When Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma of her life.
This is the true story of one girl's determination to hold her family together during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century.
