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US internet security firm Mandiant accused Chinese army of cyberattacks against US websites. Photo: Reuters

How they see it

Chinese army accused of US cyberattacks

STAFF

1. China Daily

The US internet security firm Mandiant claimed cyberattacks against US websites were traced to a building in Shanghai owned by the Chinese army. But given that hackers' origins are transnational, deceptive and anonymous, it failed to produce any convincing evidence. China is also a victim of cyberattacks. About 73,000 overseas IP addresses controlled more than 14 million computers in China last year. A considerable number of these attacks could be traced back to IP addresses in the US … With the US economic recovery dragging its feet, it is reasonable to think that some in Washington may want to make China a scapegoat so that public attention is diverted away from the country's domestic woes. (Beijing)

 

2. The New York Times

Washington has not had much success persuading Beijing to rein in its hackers even though American officials and security experts have long known that China is the main source of cyberattacks on the US. Recent developments, however, should raise the political costs for China and may cause it to alter its calculus … US officials are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks intended not just to steal corporate secrets but, as President Obama said in his State of the Union address, to "sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems". China and the US have to cooperate on numerous security issues. But that won't happen if they end up in a cyberwar. (New York)

 

3. The Globe and Mail

A US computer security firm has tracked members of China's most sophisticated computer-hacking group to the headquarters of a Chinese military unit in Shanghai. If its report is accurate, which it seems to be, this means the Chinese government is responsible for years of malicious cyberattacks on US and Canadian corporate and government computers. This is a watershed moment in relations between China and the West, with stakes that are critical to the future security of Canada and the US … Their response must be a sharp rebuke of the Chinese government. Its past denials of any involvement in China-based cyber espionage have a hollow tone to them now. China should immediately de-escalate its "digital war". (Toronto)

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: HOW THEY SEE IT 2. 3. 1.
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