The Global Times, which previously brought us this asinine op-ed, reported that “China does not have any soldiers engaging in cyber warfare,” according to a PLA spokesman. The same spokesman claimed that “[t]he Chinese military has never backed any hacking activities.” While it may be true that the PLA doesn’t have any soldiers actively engaged in cyber warfare (depending on how you define that), it’s ludicrous to say that the PLA has never backed any hacking activities. These blanket denials amuse me to no end.
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Along similar lines, Paul Mozur wrote for The Wall Street Journal on how the Chinese Ministry of Defense released a statement explaining that Chinese websites faced a growing number of cyberattacks originating in the U.S. It seems like the MOD released this statement as a counterpoint to the Mandiant report. However, the fact that the attacks originated from the U.S. does not necessarily implicate USG responsibility, and it’s unclear just what impact these cyberattacks had.
In any event, even if these cyber intrusions did have USG backing, I don’t really think it matters. The Chinese seem to think that they can paint the USG as having unclean hands by detailing their cyberespionage efforts. In effect, how can we complain about Chinese pervasive cyberexploitation (IP theft) if we engage in cyberespionage (cyber spying)? However, cyberespionage is not illegal under international law, and although it’s unclear, I believe pervasive cyberexploitation should be. The USG shouldn’t be precluded from complaining about Chinese cyberexploitation just because it engages in cyberespionage.
That being said, this line from the WSJ article bothered me:
American officials say regardless of the veracity of reports of attacks originating within the U.S., the U.S. government doesn’t carry out state-sponsored hacking.
Come on now, we’re better than that.
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