China & the Internet!
True Cyber Warriors
Yes, China is a land of contrast;
however some may argue that China is also a nation of remarkable
consistencies; from its conception history tells us that China was
adamant in regards to keeping foreign intruders and its influences out,
along with internal unrest contained.
The concept of China keeping enemies out at all cost was solidified
thousands of years ago when “a first set of walls, designed to keep
Mongol nomads out of China, were built of earth and stones in wood
frames during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE). Since the Great Wall was
discontinuous, Mongol invaders had no trouble breaching the wall by
going around it, so the wall proved unsuccessful and was eventually
abandoned.”(1) And just like the original Great Wall of China was laced
with vulnerabilities; so today is the Great Firewall of China. The World
Wide Web is simply too vast and too untested for any one nation, or
entity to control it.
However moving forward the PRC has made a valiant effort in its
quest to contain and maintain the Internet. It appears that the regime
in Beijing views most of the “outside world” in a similar manner as
their ancestors viewed the marauding Mongols and other foreigners
throughout the centuries.
Therefore Beijing has formulated “agencies that watch over the Net
that employ more than 30,000 people to prowl Web sites, blogs, and chat
rooms on the lookout for offensive content as well as scammers. In the
U.S., by contrast, the entire CIA employs an estimated 16,000
people.”(2) Although it would be overly simplistic for Westerners to
perceive that the PRC’s goal in the creation of their Internet Firewall
is to secure Chinese cyberspace from Western influence. However it also
appears that due to the millenniums of Chinese dynasties battles for
supremacy, warlord led clan feuds; has left PRC leadership feeling
compelled to also closely monitor their own citizens.“One official from
the internet publishing department, Kuo Xiao Wei, admitted the
authorities consider the net a mixed blessing. He said it abounds with
pornography and gambling sites, and while it can be a source of good
information, it also carries with it the possibility of spreading rumor
and misinformation. "With 56 ethnic minorities, we can't risk one
slandering another", he added.”(3)
Moving forward even with the zealous Internet policing being
perpetrated in China; the cyber warriors of the PLA perform covert forms
of cyber warfare against the United States military. Also highly
publicized cyber attacks on American corporate giant Google among other
U.S. business entities.
In retrospect many Westerners may sum up the “Great Firewall of
China” cyber isolation of its citizens as a tragic and unfair human
rights violation. However my personal concern revolves around the PRC
cyber attacks against the United States. Quite frankly, I find the
relentless nature of the PLA cyber attacks disturbing; in fact “'China
has downloaded 10 to 20 terabytes of data from the NIPRNet (DOD's
Non-Classified IP Router Network),' said Maj. Gen. William Lord,
director of information, services and integration in the Air Force's
Office of Warfighting Integration and Chief Information Officer, during
the recent Air Force IT Conference in Montgomery, Ala. They're looking
for your identity so they can get into the network as you,' said Lord,
adding that Chinese hackers had yet to penetrate DOD's secret,
classified network. There is a nation-state threat by the Chinese.”(4)
In closing to reiterate my personal views on the PRC aggressive
internal cyber security measures; in my opinion it is quite simply China
remaining consistent to their closed society mentality that has
survived throughout the ages. The China cyber threat is real; their
first strike capability is proven on the battleground of the 21st
Century, cyber space. I find myself pondering with concern; what are our
nation’s leaders prepared to do as a counter measure strategy to thwart
future attacks and eventually prevail in the war for dominance in the
realm of cyber space?
References:
(1)http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/greatwall.htm
(2)http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060112_434051.htm
(3)http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4587622.stm
(4 )http://gcn.com/articles/2006/08/17/red-storm-rising.aspx
