UPDATED 12:58 EDT / FEBRUARY 18 2016

NEWS

John McAfee – Taking on an invisible digital army

It is difficult for me to reconcile the virtual pass that China’s government has enjoyed within our culture and the very real cyber threats we face today. We are talking about a nation guilty of a number of acts that merit such characterization. It has committed tremendous acts against its own people. This is not a secret. By proxy, the country has also engaged in acts of national invasion, as seen in the Korean conflict. This is important to consider when discussing China’s intent. It is also a dictatorial regime, yet somehow despite all of these things, it is an active trade partner of ours.

The Chinese military is actively engaged in an ongoing cyber war against our country. This campaign has locked onto financial targets, private industry, public infrastructure, Wall Street, our very government, and many other soft spots. To this day, the OPM breach is still unsolved, but all signs have pointed in the direction of China. It is frightening that these Chinese acts repeatedly appear to be several steps ahead of us, carrying on for years and hitting us where it hurts the most.

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We are facing an invisible digital army

Our own government has thoroughly reported on the implications of this threat, yet the conversation rarely enters public consciousness. Make no mistake, the cyber warfare that is being conducted is far more than taking passwords. There is critical intelligence being gathered here, and the silence we are witnessing can only mean they are enjoying success in their current efforts. Going back to 2009, testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission shared the following assessment about China’s People’s Liberation Army strategy:

One of the chief strategies driving the process of informatization in the PLA is the coordinated use of CNO, electronic warfare (EW), and kinetic strikes designed to strike an enemy’s networked information systems, creating “blind spots” that various PLA forces could exploit at predetermined times or as the tactical situation warranted.

That report was put out seven years ago. Cyber warfare activity is a prelude to actual military attacks, be it distraction, a distribution of resources, or an interruption of supplies or communications.  The information that has been collected, the organization that is taking place, and the focused efforts all indicate that this is a tactical reality. The PLA is positioning into a place of capability. Despite the country’s outward signs of friendship, all it takes to execute a plan is just a little bit of motive, which can change in an instant.

At one point last year, there was a big commotion about an alleged agreement where China would play nice and promise not to hack us. However, by December 31st, it was announced that Chinese intelligence gathering and cyber warfare divisions were elevated into what is known as the Strategic Support Force, a division of China’s military that is equal to their Army, Air Force, Navy, and Missile Services. As many as 100,000 cyberwar hackers and intelligence personnel are a part of just one unit in this branch. Spying, intrusions, intelligence, and electronic warfare have hit the big time. Our response – well, we are all still waiting for a response. China, when pressed, repeatedly acts like this is a response to aggressive tactics from the western world.

We must act

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It is clear why China acts as they do. The country consumes massive amounts of raw resources. It leverages authority and control through raw power. Freedoms and rights in such in environment are scarce. Its biggest product is that of an indentured manufacturing populace and the ecosystem of supply and systems that make it all work. This is an economic race we are engaged in and China is quite satisfied to run their horse into the ground if needed. If they can take us down in the process, then they have accomplished all they need to win in their eyes.

To the point, our country cannot stand by and wait. We need to implement better capabilities with better people and better technologies. We cannot make the same mistakes that were made when it came to terror and wait until catastrophe occurs to start acting seriously. Terror acts and continued signals went unheeded until unimaginable acts occurred on our soil. Cyber security is just as serious a problem, and it is a problem right now. There are no deals or picture-taking diplomatic opportunities that can change that.

Video by BlackCert Image credit: azrainman/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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