http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2014-07/18/content_17830716.htm
By Colin Speakman
China Daily
2014-07-18
Tensions are growing amid claims and counter-claims of cyber espionage by
the United States and China. Even the just concluded Sino-US Strategic and
Economic Dialogue in Beijing couldn't ease the tensions.
In May, the US charged, albeit without evidence, five Chinese nationals
with breaking into US companies' systems and stealing trade secrets, and
called them "military hackers". On July 11, US Department of Justice
officers arrested a Chinese national, Su Bin, for "working with hackers in
China" to infiltrate US companies' networks and steal valuable data on
military technology. Su is the owner of Chinese aviation technology
company Lode Tech and has been accused of working with two co-conspirators
in China to break into the computers of Boeing and other US defense
contractors.
Raising tensions further, Fox News' Bob Beckel, who hosts The Five
program, said: "Chinese are the single biggest threat to the national
security of the US. Do you know what we just did? As usual, we bring them
over here and teach a bunch of Chinamen, uh, Chinese people, how to do
computers, and then they go back to China and hack us."
His remark has been strongly criticized by many, including Chinese
Americans, with California State Senator Ted Lieu demanding Beckel's
immediate resignation. Lieu has said that Americans "should all be alarmed
by the racist, xenophobic comments".
Alarming it is indeed, as The Washington Post recently noted that "the
US-China relationship is facing its stiffest test since then US president
Richard Nixon traveled to Mao Zedong's China in 1972", and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel again expressed serious concern over the
US-sponsored hacking into confidential German data. If the US cannot trust
its Western allies, how can it trust China, a country it openly admits to
be in a competitive relationship with?
China, too, is stepping up its security protection against US
surveillance. In May it announced that the Central Government Procurement
Center had mandated all "desktops, laptops and tablet PCs purchased by
central State organizations must be installed with OS other than Windows
8". The Chinese media have painted Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google,
Yahoo and other IT giants as pawns of the US National Security Agency,
claiming that foreign technology service providers such as Google and
Apple can become cybersecurity threats to Chinese users.
That's why it looked like a retaliatory move when China's State-run
television told iPhone owners that the device is a threat to national
security because it tracks users' movements. The warning was that iOS 7's
"frequent locations" app, which records places users have been to and the
time they spend there, can help the IT giant obtain sensitive information,
including State secrets.
Apple has explained the app's functionality as designed to learn important
locales to provide pre-emptive information, such as directions to a
frequently patronized restaurant or the estimated commute time to work.
However, Chinese concerns are that Apple's mobile phone positioning can
view users' addresses and whereabouts, because information will be
recorded even if the app is turned off. From this app, someone can get a
cell phone user's occupation, place of work, home address and then obtain
all other relevant information on him/her.
It is understandable that such permitted culling of information would
raise concerns after the "Snowden Effect" - many US technology companies'
relations with foreign governments, including China's, have come under
scrutiny and many big service providers asked the NSA to drastically
change its policies before the surveillance program further harms their
businesses. Apple is one of the companies at the forefront of this risk.
In the first quarter of 2014, Apple said revenue from the "Greater China"
region, which included the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, accounted for
20 percent of its total sales, up 13 percent year-on-year.
The question is: Will the future see a shutting out of potentially useful
US technological advances in China as a response to the lack of trust and
dearth of knowledge on what these technologies could be used for?
Each side accuses the other of cyber espionage and each side views itself
as a victim. China rightly cites the NSA scandal, which revealed
widespread surveillance by US intelligence agencies on not only US
citizens but also governments and companies worldwide, including Chinese
companies. The US, on its part, continues to accuse China of using cyber
warfare to steal confidential information, trade secrets and data of
national importance.
Since most countries engage in some form of spying and can justify it in
terms of national interest, a protocol on cybersecurity and boundaries of
invasive behavior should be put in place. Unfortunately, such a
possibility seems a long way off. At the next Strategic and Economic
Dialogue, therefore, a new formula should be brought to the table, and
perhaps the economic benefits of cooperation should be allowed to drive
the agenda. But whatever is agreed, spying will take place. In some form,
the cyber cold war is likely to continue.
The author, an economist and international educator, is director of China
Programs at CAPA International Education, a US-UK based organization that
cooperates with Capital Normal University and Shanghai International
Studies University.
--
Evident.io - Continuous Cloud Security for AWS.
Identify and mitigate risks in 5 minutes or less.
Sign up for a free trial @ https://evident.io/
