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At Large
China’s Cyber Militia
China increasingly relies on young civilian computer hackers for its cyber war activitiy against the U.S.
There’s been an interesting new development in China’s use of cyber space as an element in its intelligence and security operations. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is reportedly funding a vast complex of part-time cyber-devotees to supplement and compliment the official structure of cyber interception and invasion.
Equally as interesting is the willingness of the Chinese authorities to allow the publication of this fact. The first official recognition of this program occurred in one chosen hi-tech factory in 2002. According to an official PLA publication, there are now thousands of such units around the country. Obviously the proliferation was considered too great to hide.
Effectively acting as a PLA-associated technical reserve, its mostly under-thirty part-timers are drawn largely from civilian companies and university-level institutes operating in electronic fields. A national guard of “cyber soldiers” provides China’s central cyber security system with a particularly useful training ground and support structure for the already vastly expanded echelon of professionals committed to both the defensive and offensive aspects of electronic warfare.
Beijing views the cyber world as an immense battleground on which to gain advantage over its perceived enemies and at the same time act as a defensive bulwark against counter-cyber intrusions. Beijing believes firmly in the importance of the mobilization of volunteer talent in order to add substantially to the intellectual firepower of national security and defense activity.
The world of cyber action has a technological base that is equally useful for both military and civilian use. It has been proven true that an inspired and hardworking hacker can maneuver his way through many, perhaps most, electronic defenses. The difference between Western and Chinese amateur hackers is simply that the Chinese individual is involved in an intellectual adventure that can aid his country. The American counterpart has the opportunity and facility to experiment on his own — for his personal enjoyment and gain. State-organized instruments established in Chinese communities already devoted, for example, to telecommunications, Internet, and electronic industries operate in an environment already acculturated to a group rather than individual goal. The PLA naturally exploits this orientation.
PLA cyber reserve units provide a source for innovative techniques. On a more mundane basis they also act as a large-scale redundancy force for both offensive and defensive cyber attack targeting. Information warfare operations can be a highly manpower intensive activity and the Chinese have utilized a readily available part-time resource to obtain these personnel.
Published Chinese military scientific reports cited in Western media note that the PLA has constructed an auxiliary instrument that carries on the assignments of what has been referred to as “stealing, changing and erasing data” targeted to provide “deception, jamming, disruption” and other objectives appropriate to cyber warfare. While such targeting appears initially aimed at military and related “enemy” operations, they are easily adaptable to strictly civilian cyber communications and development.
The proliferation of cyber attacks, invasions, and general destructive actions has caused considerable consternation in the West. While cyber security is the subject of various publications and conferences, there appears to be little official action when the issue involves China. The Russians, while quite guarded, appear more willing to discuss a broad agreement that would counter destructive cyber attacks. Basically the Chinese have shown little or no interest in the concept of a binding international cyber agreement.
And why should they? This form of international treaty restricting sensitive military and quasi-military targeting rarely is effective unless the parties are on a friendly basis to start. The truth is that Beijing obviously does not see Washington as a true friend. It isn’t really clear that it wishes to be so. China feels safer with its own military defense and ability to acquire the classified military technology of the United States. Stealing civilian technology secrets is of collateral commercial benefit and in the collective minds of Beijing not at all of the same character as the gathering of classified defense data.
The openness of society that is enjoyed by the U.S. and the West, in general, is contrary to the traditional tendency of the Han people for concealment. To expect otherwise is quite foolish. Sun Tzu, the famed author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu, wrote: “To secure ourselves from defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” And this is the strategic view of the PRC leadership in regard to the cyber war with the United States.
About the Author
George H. Wittman writes a weekly column on international affairs for The American Spectator online. He was the founding chairman of the National Institute for Public Policy.
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arcn| 10.21.11 @ 6:30AM
I am quite certain that we train some of their cyber warriors right here on US turf. MIT. Cal Tech. Purdue. UCLA. Stanford. Keep going. The list is long.
The U.S. taxpayer aids this through various national and state assistance programs for the grad levels, beyond.
We are a more open society. Often openly stupid, naive.
TrueBlue| 10.21.11 @ 12:13PM
Except they don't generally get actual experience hacking in most of the companies that employ them, so their skills become outdated. Rather than doing what the Chinese do and employing hackers to defend against other nation's intrusions, and using them to attack back, we put our hackers in jail and ban them from computer use on threat of more jail time.
Also, as with the Islamic Middle East region, the West is incapable of accepting that the Asian culture and values are completely different than our own and continually try to deal with them as they would any of the European countries. That mindset will not work, ever. It would take a massive culture shift of our own to get even most private industry companies to understand and accept this, let alone the government and military.
Doctor_X| 10.21.11 @ 7:05AM
When I brought up the issue that Chinese students were working on projects that they shouldn’t and that they were being forced to spy and steal research I was nearly thrown out of the university!
I was charged of being Xenophobic, bigoted, and against academic freedom, that was in 1993!
Where are we now?
Moe Blotz| 10.21.11 @ 2:41PM
We are a nation with more than one chink in our armour.
Pecos Pete| 10.21.11 @ 7:27AM
Our federal government wants to digitize your life, your health records, your banking activity.
Hackers, whether from China or not, delight in disrupting your life. Given enough time and resources, any computer system can be hacked.
Computers are everywhere. Your vehicle, your bank, your school, your home, your business, etc. And the electric grid.
And then there is the EMP bomb, the biggest hack of all.
Ken (Old Texican)| 10.21.11 @ 8:10AM
We need our best and brightest engaged in this war.
The absolute very best focus is "boomerang viruses".
ie: every time a hack occurs our virus destroys the hacker's tech.
Celestine| 10.21.11 @ 8:37AM
I would like to think that our defense community is on top of this, and in truth the efforts of our intelligence establishment are often as impressive as they are unknown, but cyber aggression is no small threat. Few things argue in favor of pulling ourselves out of our debt to China better than China's apparent inclination to undermine and exploit our digital society. This requires a substantial response which is impossible so long as we nurse at the economic teat of China. Think of this the next time you are tempted to buy something with a "made in China" label, or to support a spending program that will require a further loan from China.
POST American| 10.21.11 @ 9:24AM
"The Globalists are NOT afraid
of RED China. It's theirs. They
created it. They direct it. It's
to be our model and their 'enforcer'."
-ALAN WATT
(fearless online coverage of the CON)
And as the 2012 election approaches
the DENIAL around the Globalist RED China
TREASON, EUGENICS and GENOCIDE
issues is staggering.
The sheeple in Tower #2 just standing
around, watching the flames, while
sipping their '90's Show' lattes.
REALLY incredible.
Eclipses any denial from the 1930's or
40's.
ASS----STOUNDING.
REALLY-----
John McG| 10.21.11 @ 10:45AM
Compliment the official structure? As in "attaboy"?
Martin Owens| 10.21.11 @ 12:14PM
A multi-million man cyber militia is daunting to think about... but it's a two edged sword. If they had been in place the day after the Teinanmen massacre, for instance, would they have all parroted the government line?
TrueBlue| 10.21.11 @ 12:59PM
Difference being that the Chinese government controls their internet and can literally shut them out pretty quickly. They would have had to coordinate it beforehand and have all of the attacks gain complete control right from the start or it would have ended just as quickly as the Teinanmen massacre. Also, they now get a government paycheck, so it's in their personal interest to support said government.
Same issue we have back here in the states with public sector unions. It's in their best interest that the government stays large, and gets larger.
davelnaf| 10.21.11 @ 3:54PM
Although the Chicoms do not believe that money grows on trees, particularly in regard to their own currency, they have pretty much convinced themselves that other peoples’ technology should be free. For the most part, though, their cyber warfare activity comes from the stark realization some decades back that it doesn't naturally follow from the existence of 1.3 billion mainland Chinese that rip-roaring technological innovation is coming down the pike anytime soon.
axbucxdu| 10.21.11 @ 11:32PM
"...For the most part, though, their cyber warfare activity comes from the stark realization some decades back that it doesn't naturally follow from the existence of 1.3 billion mainland Chinese that rip-roaring technological innovation is coming down the pike anytime soon."
The CHiComs have only themselves to (thank) blame for that. You must admit that knocking something off does save one the cost of doing the heavy lifting yourself. For example, consider the Russian Raptorski or the recently unveiled Chinese variant. Who needs rip roaring development costs when the idiotic Yenqui give hi-tech away?
POST American| 10.22.11 @ 12:07AM
-------Tavistock programming -------ALERT!-------
'Chi-COM'? ----Chai -'CALM'? ---huh?
NO, NO, NO
---Communist China or RED China.
You know, RED as in blood.
----Blood RED.
The blood of 90 MILLION exterminated.
The blood of EUGENICS labs and prison
camps, and Apple 'CALM--p---YOU----ter'
slave and suicide factories.
PLEASE, stop cholorophorming
the reality of Globalist ROT-child/ Rockefeller
USURY and EUGENICS ----'HIS' story.
Moe Blotz| 10.22.11 @ 10:18AM
So, what substance do you huff before tickling your keyboard?
POST American| 10.22.11 @ 12:08AM
----That's CHLOROFORM----
DWSWesVirginny| 10.22.11 @ 10:21AM
I understand that China, if it views itself as our enemy, would try to use computer hacking as a weapon to disrupt our society. (I'm not approving of this, only agreeing to its logic.) But what I don't get it the stealing. Hey!, I thought SATs, intelligence tests, and so forth, proved that the Chinese (and East Asians generally) were the smartest people in the world? They're scoring one zillion on every standardized test. Our universities are crowded with their students in physics, math and engineering. Asian immigrants regularly fill out the American teams in Math Olympiads and international competition. So, why don't they just put their superior brains together and do something constructive such as leave the West behind in intellectual development and paving the way for a new Asian Renaissance? Where are the Chinese Steve Jobses? Surely out of over 1 billion above average people, there must be a plenitude of Jobses? Why this piracy stuff? Just want to know?
E. Thinking| 10.22.11 @ 8:30PM
Hm....good line of questioning and reasoning.
My take: You don't see a creative, fresh-face and unlikely rags to riches story coming out of China or Russia (certainly never a North Korea or Iran) because of how secular totalitarian societies behave.
Oh, sure they'll coopt and offer much a much better than average living standard to a provincial Chinese man that turns out to be their Henry Ford or Carl Benz.
But the man will be used, exploited, tapped, and hidden in a Chinese automotive conglomerate where the credit and praise go toward the party officials "running" this automotive branch of the economy.
This man would not be allowed to travel to world auto expos.
So ultimately totalitarianism again shows itself as the failure it is. That Chinese automotive genius could take his countrymen and the industry much higher and further, but evil always suffocates.
And notice how I used the word "secular" in front of totalitarianism. Stifle faith and the human soul/mind/body NEVER soar to the heights.
We should dig this dagger of reasoning into Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Venezuela at EVERY opportunity.
If you want to soar as a nation, let your people go.
Paul J| 10.22.11 @ 10:43AM
Once China took off the ideological glasses its no stretch to imagine that their reformist leaders are putting great interest into becoming a independent great power anyway they can. The question remains to how long the young will work in order to promote their leaders advocacy.
M. M.| 10.22.11 @ 6:19PM
I'm sorry, but this article doesn't site even one credible source. It's causing way too much noise on the internet for something that could be pure fiction. Just because the content of the article in fact matches what everybody already "knows" doesn't lend it credibility. Journalists need sources, this one doesn't cite even one.
POST American| 10.23.11 @ 12:41AM
"Very soon you'll be hearing communism
is dead. -----DONTbelieve it."
-Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet Premier
1990
"America must now embrace Perestroika.
America must now embrace world
govern--ANTS."
-Mikhail Gorbachev
(days ago)
"Always understand 'their' definition
of 'peace' is ----through the needle, diet,
injunction, full spectrum surveillance
and govern--ANTS ---tha absense of
ALLLLLL dissent."
-ALAN WATT
"NO people, NO problem."
-Josef Stalin
1932
----All we need to know. . .
Gr0w1er601| 10.24.11 @ 8:57AM
The Chinese don't develop technology- they steal it.
Ricahrd Arnold| 10.24.11 @ 1:57PM
Yawn.
If the Chinese were so good technically, they wouldn't spend so much time trying to steal our technology via espionage.
Their education system is based on rote learning and zero questioning of the Professor's "authority," which is why the graduates are zombies who can steal other folk's work, but have terrible troubles innovating.
They will ALWAYS be two steps behind US forces.