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The Justice Department ’s announcement that it was indicting five Chinese military officers on charges of stealing commercial secrets is, in one way, to be welcomed. It shines a light on the vast problem of Chinese espionage directed not only against the U.S. government but also against U.S. corporations.

On the other hand, it is bizarre. Unless these five officers inexplicably intend to visit the United States, nothing will ever happen to them as a result of these indictments. In theory, they might be nabbed in a country with an extradition treaty with the United States, but really, now, will the Belgian foreign ministry stoutly uphold the rule of law when confronted by a furious Chinese ambassador threatening retribution for bundling the colonels on a jet headed for Washington, hands cuffed and heads bowed?…  Seguir leyendo »

At first glance, the Justice Department’s 31-count indictment of five Chinese military officers for hacking into the computers of six American corporations, in order to steal billions of dollars’ worth of industrial secrets, seems a bit odd. No way are Beijing’s leaders going to extradite members of their elite cyberwarfare unit to stand trial in a U.S. criminal court.

At second glance, the move still seems strange and possibly counterproductive. The United States engages in cyber-offensive operations, too. Doesn’t President Obama —who must have approved the indictment and its high-profile rollout — worry that China will strike back by revealing some of our own secret plots?…  Seguir leyendo »

It's been a busy few days in the world of cybercrime.

Late last week, we learned that cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and overseas police agencies led to the dissection of the amorphous network behind Blackshades -- the tool that allows hackers to remotely access an unwitting user's computer to steal sensitive files, log passwords, and capture webcam images.

Law enforcement authorities from the U.S. to Germany to the Netherlands appeared on the doorsteps of suspected hackers with links to the malicious software, eventually arresting 90 people and gathering hoards of evidence along the way.

Then, on Monday, U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

We confront the problem of I.T. weaponry and national security today with the same uncertainty that we brought to nuclear weapons during the early years of the Cold War.

We’re aware something dangerous is in our hands; we are less certain what to do about it. And while the very newness of the field means discussion now is necessarily tentative, one of the lessons of today’s technology is that newness creates the possibility for fast progress.

Such a possibility exists in discussions this week between U.S. and Chinese representatives in Washington, the first ever working-level cybersecurity engagement between the two nations.…  Seguir leyendo »

As Barack Obama and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet in California next week, America’s relations with China are feeling increasingly like the cold war — especially when it comes to cybersecurity.

With the two countries accusing each other of breaking the old rules of the game, a new breed of “cyberhawks” on both sides are arguing for cold-war-like escalation that could turn low-level cyberconflict into total war.

But treating today’s Beijing like Brezhnev’s Moscow distorts the nature of the threat and how Washington should respond to it.

In confronting today’s cyberbattles, the United States should think less about Soviets and more about pirates.…  Seguir leyendo »