20 february 2013
China revealed as source of internet hacking
(cbc vid grab)
stealing Western secrets and controlling critical infrastructure from thousands of kilometers away
stealing Western secrets and controlling critical infrastructure from thousands of kilometers away
For years, Canada’s Security Intelligence Service has been warning government and business to be wary of hackers. CSIS and other security agencies, have joined a chorus of security services from other western countries hinting that the attacks are coming from China, with the underlying hint that the Chinese government and military are likely either well aware of these activites, or actively persuing them.
The attacks are not only to gather technical secrets from business, and military, but also to gain entry and potentially disrupt critical infrastructure.
Chinese officials have always vehemently denied such allegations.
This week a US cyber-security firm, Mandiant, released a report in which it says after years of painstaking research, it has successfully traced cyber attacks on US, British, and Canadian computer systems.
The US report pinpoints the attacks as coming from a specific Chinese military building in Shanghai.
The attacks are not only to gather technical secrets from business, and military, but also to gain entry and potentially disrupt critical infrastructure.
Chinese officials have always vehemently denied such allegations.
This week a US cyber-security firm, Mandiant, released a report in which it says after years of painstaking research, it has successfully traced cyber attacks on US, British, and Canadian computer systems.
The US report pinpoints the attacks as coming from a specific Chinese military building in Shanghai.
Security personnel in western countries have long been concerned about weaknesses in domestic computer infrastructure and a number of breaches. The estimate is that a vast amount of political, military, and industrial secrets have already been stolen. Additionally, many attacks have been mounted to take over control of vital infrastructure
((Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, China's ambassador to Canada ,Zhang Junsai denied any Chinese involvement in cyber espionage or attacks. He told a CBC intervewer, ""If you really have the evidence, come [out] with it. If not... shut up,"
In addition to the theft of billions of dollars worth of industrial secrets, there have been strong concerns about foreign ability to hack into systems and shut down such things as air traffic control, transit systems, pipeline flow, electrical power grids, municipal water supply systems, banking etc.
cbc vid grab taken from clandestine drive past Unit 61398 of the Chinese Army, a guarded but plain looking building in Shanghai. According to cyber investigation firm Mandiant, its the source of hundreds of attempts to break into vital western computer systems.
Although a number of western security services have mentioned potentially government sponsored foreign orchestrated attacks and breaches of computer systems, they have generally been very reluctant to categorically name China or any other country.
(cbc vid grab) Mandiant says its 60-page report details some 3,000 technical indicators including doman names, IP addresses, and encryption certificates used by the hackers
Professor David Skillicorn of Queen’s University is an internet security expert. He says the American evidence for the first time clearly points the finger at China and a military establishment. He notes that this now puts the US and other governments, including Canada, in a delicate political and diplomatic situation. On the one hand it clearly shows an antagonistic attitude on the part of China, but on the other, western countries still need to do business with China.
He notes it is now an on-going battle to defend systems from these distant attacks. Dr Skillicorn says this particular location is probably only one of several and notes that even if you built defences against it, other locations will quickly mount attacks through other pathways.
((Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, China's ambassador to Canada ,Zhang Junsai denied any Chinese involvement in cyber espionage or attacks. He told a CBC intervewer, ""If you really have the evidence, come [out] with it. If not... shut up,"
In addition to the theft of billions of dollars worth of industrial secrets, there have been strong concerns about foreign ability to hack into systems and shut down such things as air traffic control, transit systems, pipeline flow, electrical power grids, municipal water supply systems, banking etc.
cbc vid grab taken from clandestine drive past Unit 61398 of the Chinese Army, a guarded but plain looking building in Shanghai. According to cyber investigation firm Mandiant, its the source of hundreds of attempts to break into vital western computer systems.
Although a number of western security services have mentioned potentially government sponsored foreign orchestrated attacks and breaches of computer systems, they have generally been very reluctant to categorically name China or any other country.
(cbc vid grab) Mandiant says its 60-page report details some 3,000 technical indicators including doman names, IP addresses, and encryption certificates used by the hackers
Professor David Skillicorn of Queen’s University is an internet security expert. He says the American evidence for the first time clearly points the finger at China and a military establishment. He notes that this now puts the US and other governments, including Canada, in a delicate political and diplomatic situation. On the one hand it clearly shows an antagonistic attitude on the part of China, but on the other, western countries still need to do business with China.
He notes it is now an on-going battle to defend systems from these distant attacks. Dr Skillicorn says this particular location is probably only one of several and notes that even if you built defences against it, other locations will quickly mount attacks through other pathways.
RCI’s Marc Montgomery spoke to internet security expert David Skillicorn about the scope of the attacks and the significance of this new report. He is a professor at the School of Computing at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments always welcome!