THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAS MADE SOME HEADLINES BY CHARGING MEMBERS OF CHINA'S MILITARY
WITH HACKING INTO THE COMPUTERS OF US COMPANIES TO STEAL TRADE SECRETS.
THE
CHARGES WERE A FIRST BUT CAME AS NO SURPRISE.
EXPERTS SAY CHINA FOR YEARS HAS BEEN TRYING TO STEAL DATA FROM US CORPORATIONS, INTEREST
GROUPS, MEDIA AND EVEN THE
GOVERNMENT.
JOINING ME NOW FOR MORE IS DOUG BERNARD HE IS OUR VOA ONLINE SECURITY AND FREEDOM BLOGGER.
SO DOUG, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE US CHARGING CHINA WITH?
WELL FIRST AND FOREMOST, EXACTLY NOBODY IS SURPRISED THAT A LOT OF HACKING IS COMING
FROM CHINA.
THE US GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS AS HAVE CORPORATIONS FOR
YEARS.
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS INDICTMENT IS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME THE US GOVERNMENET IS SAYING
ELEMENTS OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT -- SPECIFICALLY THE ARMY -- AND SPECIFIC
INDIVIDUALS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INTENTIONALLY HACKING INTO US PRIVATE CORPORATE COMPUTERS
WITH THE INTENT TO STEAL RESEARCH AND TRADE SECRETS.
AND AS I UNDERSTAND IT THEY WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO TRACK THE INDIVIDUALS THEMSELVES AS
OPPOSED TO THE LOCATION.
WHICH IS REALLY A FIRST-TIME EVENT AND VERY DIFFICULT.
THERE'S A LOT OF FORENSICS THAT WENT INTO ACTUALLY PUTTING THIS INDICTMENT TOGETHER.
AND SO YOU'VE TALKED WITH SOME OF THE ANALYSTS WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES
THAT THEY USED.
AND SO, HAVE THEY BEEN DOING ANYTHING UNIQUE?
NOT UNIQUE, BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING I THINK IS THIS WAS NOT A ONE-AND-DONE HACK.
THIS WAS RELATIVELY SOPHISTICATED, LONG TERM, AND REQUIRED A LOT OF RESEARCH.
WHAT THE
CHINESE DID IS USE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD CALL SOCIAL ENGINEERING.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY TRICKING SOMEBODY INTO THINKING THAT YOU'RE TRUSTWORTHY AND THAT
YOU'RE SOMEBODY
OTHER THAN WHO YOU ACTUALLY ARE.
SO WHY IS THE US ALLEGING THAT THE CHINESE MILITARY IS ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN HACKING US
SITES BUT THERE ARE CORPORATE AND NOT STATE SECRETS THAT ARE SAID TO BE TARGETED.
SO
WHY CORPORATE INTERESTS?
WHY CORPORATE INTERESTS, AND WHY THE ARMY I THINK ARE TWO GOOD QUESTIONS.
FIRST TO CORPORATE INTERESTS.
I THINK A LOT OF ANALYSTS WOULD TELL YOU THAT THE CHINESE LAG BEHIND
THE US IN TERMS OF INTELLECTUAL PATENTS, RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO THIS HACKING CAN GIVE THESE CHINESE FIRMS AN UNFAIR LEG UP.
ALSO REMEMBER, LOOK,
CORPORATIONS I THINK DON'T ALWAYS HAVE REALLY GOOD NETWORK SECURITY.
THE US GOVERNMENT IS PRETTY GOOD ABOUT KEEPING ITS INFORMATION SECRET ON ITS COMPUTERS, SO
THE
CORPORATIONS I THINK WERE AN EASY TARGET.
NOW, WHY THE MILITARY?
WELL ONE ANALYST I SPOKE WITH PUT IT THIS WAY: WHEN YOU HAVE AN IMPORTANT JOB TO DO,
YOU SEND IN THE A-
TEAM.
AND IN CHINA, THE A-TEAM IS THE MILITARY.
OK AND SO THE OTHER WAY AROUND THOUGH, CHINA CERTAINLY HAS BEEN MAKING TIT-FOR-TAT, I GUESS
I SHOULD SAY CHINA'S MAKING FREQUENT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE US OF DOING THE
SAME THING.
EXACTLY.
AND THEY HAVE ACCUSED THE US OF SPYING.
LOOK, EVERYBODY SPIES.
EVERYBODY HACKS.
I DON'T THINK IN THE US CASE YOU HAVE TO GO MUCH FURTHER THAN JUST SAYING 'EDWARD
SNOWDEN.'
THE DIFFERENCE IS THE CHINESE ALLEGATIONS HAVE BEEN JUST THAT: RUMOR AND ALLEGATIONS
AND NEVER PROVEN.
WHAT'S NEW AND INTERESTING HERE IS THAT THE US GOVERNMENT
IS SAYING NOT ONLY DO WE KNOW YOU'RE DOING THIS, BUT NOW WE CAN PROVE IT.
ALRIGHT, VOA'S DOUG BERNARD, OUR CYBER EXPERT HERE AT THE VOICE OF AMERICA.
THANKS A LOT DOUG.
THANK YOU.