Pentagon: China threatens space and cyberspace
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Commies get nukes, sat-kill lasers, 'electromagnetic dominance' virus units A Pentagon report into Chinese military capability says that the People's Republic "is expanding from the traditional land, air, and sea dimensions of the modern battlefield to include space and cyber-space."â¦
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China said Sunday it was concerned about U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite that is hurtling toward Earth with 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel.
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In a move more reminiscent of the Cold War era, the US government believes the Chinese government hacked into Pentagon computers, a charge China denies.
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(InfoWorld) - China Tuesday denied allegations that its militaryÂ hacked a Pentagon networkÂ in JuneÂ -- the second time in as many weeks that the country has responded to charges of sponsoring computer attacks. "Some people are making wild accusations against China and wantonly saying the Chinese military attacked the Pentagon's computer network," Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said in Beijing, according to the state-controlled Xinhua news service. "These are totally groundless and also reflect a Cold War mentality," she added. Jiang was responding to a story published by the Financial Times this weekend that quoted American officials who said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was behind the June hack. One person familiar with the incident told the Financial Times that there was a "very high level of confidence... trending towards total certainty" that the PLA was responsible. Other sources told the publication that Chinese hackers probed the Pentagon system for months before the attacks, which forced the U.S. to take the network offline for more than a week. The Department of Defense downplayed the attack, but declined to point the finger at any one country or group. The attack on an unclassified e-mail network in the Office of the Secretary of Defense required that the systems be taken offline, spokesman Bryan Whitman acknowledged today, but backup networks kicked in. He would not confirm that China hackers were behind the assault, saying only that it's often difficult to pinpoint the origin of an intrusion into computer systems. But the Pentagon did not stand idly by, he said. "Cyber or non-kinetic type threats to military computer networks are viewed as just as real and just as significant as physical or kinetic threats," Whitman said in a statement. "The department aggressively responds to deter all intrusions to defend what is known as the GIG, the global information grid." Just a month before the attack, the Department of Defense had issued a report claiming that the PLA fieldsÂ first-strike cyberwarfareÂ units whose arsenals include computer viruses they might unleash on enemy networks. When the Pentagon released its annual report on the state of China's military strength in late May, Jiang, the same foreign ministry spokeswoman who blasted the story today, took exception to its overall tone, although she didn't mention cyberwarfare specifically. The U.S., she said then, "continues to spread myth of the 'China Threat' by exaggerating China's military strength and expenses out of ulterior motives." Last week, Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, raised the same issue during her visit to Beijing after the popular weekly Der Spiegel said systems at several government ministries, including Merkel's own office, had beenÂ infected with spywareÂ planted by Chinese hackers. In statements made during a press conference Aug. 27, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao called the reports of "grave concern" and promised that China would cooperate with Germany in its investigation. Today, Jiang seemed to echo Wen's comments. "The Chinese government has always opposed any Internet-wrecking crime, including hacking, and cracked down on it according to the law," she said. The Chinese military has been involved with hacking and viruses since at least the early 1990s, according to a 2000 paper written by Timothy Thomas of the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth. Coincidentally, the president of both China and the U.S. will face off this week in Australia during meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Hu Jintao, China's president, arrived in the country yesterday, while President George W. Bush arrived in Sydney today. Trade and climate change are expected to lead the agenda during the 21-country talks. Hu and Bush are scheduled to meet one-on-one during the conference. Â  Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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A Pentagon official yesterday cited plans to establish a crisis  hotline between Washington and Beijing as well as expanded exchanges involving top U.S. and Chinese defense officials as signs of improving U.S.-Chinese military ties.
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SPACE.com / Top officials from NASA and China are meeting this week to gauge the prospects for potential partnerships in future space endeavors.
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China has been the target of a big  increase in cyber-attacks in recent years and faces more of a  threat from hackers than any country in the West, a military  researcher said on Saturday.
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China is drafting laws governing outer space, state media on Monday quoted the country's first astronaut as saying at a time when Beijing's space drive is drawing growing international concern.
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China on Tuesday rejected a report that  hackers controlled by its military had successfully entered a  Pentagon network, calling the claim a product of &quot;Cold War&quot;  thinking.
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China on Tuesday called for talks on a space weapons treaty, a day after its defense minister reportedly said the country had no plans for a repeat of last month's test of an anti-satellite weapon.
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China has suffered "massive" losses of state and military secrets through the Internet, a senior official said, urging sweeping controls and new security agencies to fight computer threats and uncensored news.
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The United States clashed with China and Russia during a disarmament debate Tuesday over how to prevent an arms race in outer space, and Washington criticized Beijing for its recent test of an anti-satellite missile. Russia and China, in turn, condemned the "one state" that refuses to consider a treaty banning space weapons &#151; a reference to the U.S.
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China is devoting more resources to its military and the Pentagon wants Beijing to be more open about its intentions.
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By Greg AutryChina recently shot down an aging Chinese weather satellite -- a signal that China will not abide by the doctrine of U.S. space superiority outlined in the new National Space Policy released in October by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
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China and the United States plan to set up a defense hotline, one of Beijing's top generals said on Saturday, a move aimed at improving military relations as Washington grows increasingly wary of China's military buildup.
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The United States must make clear to  China it intends to defend its space assets and enlist allies  to counter possible threats from China, which recently tested  an anti-satellite missile, U.S. lawmakers said on Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - A hacking attempt against the U.S. Department of Defense unclassified e-mail system earlier in the year caused minor administrative disruptions and personal inconveniences, but no adverse impact, a military spokesman said Tuesday. The Financial Times, quoting unnamed officials on Monday, attributed the attacks to China's People's Liberation Army. Defense Department spokesman Major Patrick Ryder said he could not confirm the report. China is believed to aggressively probe U.S. networks to gain intelligence. In June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed during a briefing that 1,500 e-mail users were taken offline after the intrusion. The department said pinpointing the origin of the attacks is difficult since hackers often use other computers they've hacked to launch attacks. The department's Global Information Grid, which encompasses warfighting and civilian systems, is constantly scanned for weaknesses. Those hackers are looking for exploits in commercial software and operating systems, the department said. "We know that a number of nations and groups are actively developing these capabilities," according to a statement. "We have seen attempts by a variety of state and non-state sponsored organizations to gain unauthorized access to, or otherwise degrade, [Defense Department] information systems. Â