Report to Congress: China’s Cyber Strategy is strong!

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission recently reported to Congress on the strength of China’s cyber strategy. The report–released this month–outlines China’s attention to developing sophisticated cyber capabilities. Colonel Gary McAlum, who presides over global network operations, testified to the commission that China realises the urge for a strong cyber presence and has demonstrated this through increased resources and training in cyber attacks and cyber intrusions.

The Colonel further said that China currently has the intent and ability to conduct cyber operations anywhere in the world at any given time. Their cyber espionage program is so advanced that they can carry out cyber warfare at a level so sophisticated, that the U.S may not even notice or have the ability to counter.

The report further outlines how vulnerable the U.S is to cyber attacks. With systems such as power grids, financial, water, air traffic control, and other critical infrastructure connected to the Internet, a successful attack could paralyze the U.S. The bottom line, any system connected to the Internet has the potential to be accessed by foreign sources.

This report underscores the need for a more proactive and less reactive security strategy. Government and industry should collaborate a lot more and devote additional resources to research and development in information/cyber security. The report mentioned estimates of over 250 hacker groups in China that are tolerated, and possibly encouraged by their Government. We have a lot of talent in the mainstream and underground security/penetration industry here in the U.S. and should look to hone those skills instead of rejecting them.

If you’re interested in the report, it can be found here.