Prevention is the Best Policy: Why the U.S. Needs a Proactive Defense Strategy Against Chinese Cyberwarfare
DEVELOPMENTS
Internet experts consider China to be one of the most active leaders in cyber espionage. According to one computer security company’s estimate, there were 128 cyber intrusions per minute from Internet addresses associated with China in 2009.
Among the most threatening of those intrusions came from “GhostNet,” a Chinese cyber espionage ring designed to break into sensitive U.S. government networks. In 2010, a similar effort called “Shadow” targeted Indian academics, journalists and government officials. In 2007, Chinese hackers infiltrated a secure Pentagon system known as the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network, or NIPRNet.
BACKGROUND
The appeal of cyberwarfare lies in its asymmetric threat. A single cyber attacker can cause large-scale harm to civilians, or destruction of critical national infrastructure, by unleashing a single virus at a low cost. Although it may seem to be a recent development, cyberwarfare has been waged since the 1990s.
Although the U.S. government has been aware of the Chinese cyber attacks since the late 1990s, Washington has remained relatively quiet about the threat, fearing that public acknowledgment would encourage an onslaught of attacks.
The U.S. is facing skyrocketing cyber attacks on not only its military and defense industry, but also the private sector, with a large number of attacks originating from China, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Even prestigious defense companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have become victims. Google was another victim in December 2009.
Beijing has dismissed allegations about its involvement in cyber attacks. “Some people outside of China are bent on fabricating lies of so-called Chinese computer spies,” claimed Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang in March 2009. “Their attempt to tarnish China with lies is doomed to failure.”
U.S. defense has been focused mostly on anti-terrorism in the wake of 9/11, but capacity-building in informational warfare has been a top priority for Chinese national security. According to Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Peter Brookes, China “recognize[d] that the U.S. dependence on computers for command, control, communications and intelligence is a potential strategic weakness, ripe for exploitation.” Offering competitive salaries for government jobs, the Chinese government has recruited top students in computer science, engineering, mathematics and foreign languages.
By contrast, salaries in this area have depreciated in Western countries due to the global economic crisis, strengthening China’s comparative advantage in attracting top talent.
ANALYSIS
“The United States is fighting a cyber-war today, and we are losing,” Mike McConnell, a former Director of the National Intelligence, wrote in The Washington Post, “The problem is that we lack a cohesive strategy to meet this challenge.”
Cyberattacks defy typical defense paradigms. Because it is often difficult and time-consuming to identify an attacker, punishment and future deterrence are sometimes impossible. In a recent talk at the Council on Foreign Relations, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn pointed out that, in cyber warfare, the “defender is lagging behind the attacker to develop measures and countermeasures” and suggested that an “updated Cold War strategy of shared warning” was necessary. Allies must develop a more robust system of collective defense based on pooled knowledge regarding technology and an awareness of I.D. attack signatures, according to Deputy Secretary Lynn.
The U.S. must enhance its capacity for defense against cyber attacks on computers and networks in both the public and the private sectors. First, the country has to develop secure software and microprocessors for both military and civilians in order to prevent attacks and information leakage. To avoid any large-scale destruction, the government and the private sector must cooperate and share some technologies and algorithm. Second, the government and the private sector should develop a contingency plan. It is critical to have experts who are able to identify the problem, set up a new firewall, and operate broken infrastructure systems manually (if necessary) in a timely manner. Third, the government needs to develop laws to punish and deter cyberattacks, which are covered by neither current domestic onr international law. Cyber threats to the U.S. are escalating, and the best defense is to be proactive.
Mihoko Matsubara is a Fulbright Scholar and an M.A. candidate in Strategic Studies and International Economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
