China: A Capable Cyber Opponent

The world can be a scary place in today's age where threats of attack not only exist physically but also digitally. Cyberattacks have become a low risk, high reward way to get a hold of sensitive data. It is not only individual criminals carrying out these attacks but even nation states. For a long time the U.S. government has complained about China's hacking and cyberattacks. I decided to learn a bit more about the ongoing cyberwar between the two countries.

China has long been home to the world's most relentless and aggresive hackers. Cyber spies are able to steal valuable information on behalf of the Chinese government in order to manufacture cheaper versions of technology or to give their own people an advantage over foreign competitors. These hackers pose a great threat to our own companies and government agencies.

A study published by Akamai Technologies, Inc., an internet content delivery network, reported that a disconcerting 43% of all DDoS attacks in the fourth quarter of 2013 originated from China. It included in the study that business websites were the most likely targets and the odds of a repeat attack were one in three. In total hackers attacked websites 75% more frequently than they had in the final quarter than they did in the previous quarter. This shocking growth of cyber attacks is believed to continue growing at a rapid rate.

The United States has not sat idly while China's cyberthreat grows. Edward Snowden's documents revealed that the National Security Agency was able to penetrate the networks of Huawei, a large Chinese telecommunications company. Huawei is more than large, it is the third-largest provider of smartphones behind Samsung and Apple and is also known for its' servers that rival companies like Cisco Systems. The N.S.A. gathered as much information as possible about its operations and was potentially able to use the backdoors on Huawei equipment to monitor other companies and networks.

For now it seems that this new cyber war will be fought behind the scenes. But don't let that fool you into a false sense of security, serious implications could arise from cyber attacks against our government agency and U.S. companies. We need to stay informed of cyber attacks and have in place cyberdefenses that keep us safe.