Chinese Army Behind U.S. Cyber Attacks!

Why would you go to Walmart or any other store and buy consumer goods from a country that is committing espionage against YOU? LOOK at your labels and stop buying anything made in China!



By Ed Flanagan, Producer, NBC NewsBEIJING –
A group of hackers linked to the Chinese military has stolen reams of
sensitive data from more than 100 prominent American companies and
organizations, according to an explosive new report.
“The details we have analyzed during hundreds of investigations convince us that the
groups conducting these activities are based primarily in China and that
the Chinese Government is aware of them,” U.S. computer-security firm
Mandiant Corp. said in a 74-page report released on Tuesday.
The story was first reported by the NY Times.

One group originating from China that Mandiant had been tracking
since 2006 and identified in the study as “APT1” allegedly swiped data
from 141 companies in 20 industries ranging from aerospace to
telecommunications, according to the report. More than 110 of those
companies were American, according to Mandiant.
Mandiant said that the data suggests that the hacker group was either working for or
sponsored by China’s People’s Liberation Army. Indeed, according to the
organization’s information, APT1’s activity originated from a People’s
Liberation Army cyberware division known as “Unit 61398.”
“Our research found that People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) Unit 61398 is
similar to APT1 in its mission, capabilities, and resources,” it said,
according to the report. “PLA Unit 61398 is also located in precisely
the same area from which APT1 activity appears to originate.”
Mandiant said that the hacking originated from a drab 12-story office building
on the outskirts of Shanghai. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of
operatives performed covert corporate espionage and extracted trade
secrets, blueprints, pricing data and other corporate information from
countless American servers from the innocuous tower, according
to Mandiant.

The hackers used techniques like “spear-phishing” -- using spoof
emails to trick users into granting access to internal servers
--demonstrating a strong proficiency in the English language and
advanced understanding of computer security and network operations, the
organization said.

Media blackout
Though the story exploded on Twitter and in the foreign news media, it has hardly made
any waves in China. Twitter has long been blocked in the country and
foreign media companies that broadcast on the mainland like CNN were
blacked out when the report was mentioned on air.
Coverage of Mandiant’s report was also absent from Chinese news websites, but some
discussion of the report could still be found on China’s Twitter-like
service, Weibo. “Chinese hackers are so capable! I always thought Americans are very powerful!” exclaimed one user.
“Reports by foreign media cannot be fully trusted,” warned another user, “but there must be something.”

Related: Wall Street Journal infiltrated by Chinese hackers
This was a sentiment partly shared by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman,
Hong Lei, who responded today to questions about the hacking report by
calling them “groundless” and reiterating the government’s unwavering
position on the matter.
“To make groundless accusations based on
some rough material is neither responsible nor professional,” he said,
before noting that China was also the victim of hacking attacks.
Hong also argued that the new evidence provided by Mandiant and the New York Times will not withstand closer scrutiny.

But China’s cyber activities have been under increasingly closer scrutiny
in recent weeks, as a slew of news stories have come out about Beijing’s
reported hacking ambitions. Last month, the New York Times reported
that its own servers had been attacked by hackers originating in China, possibly in response to an embarrassing expose it published showing the hidden riches of out-going Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao.
While the White House has largely remained silent on the hacking issue --
President Barack Obama mentioned hacking in his State of the Union but
did not specifically cite China -- the government has been noticeably
increasing efforts to strengthen cyber security.
Last week Obama issued an Executive Order
calling for the improving of critical infrastructure tied to cyber
security. That the move came on the eve of the publication of two
similar exposes -- last week Bloomberg printed another story
demonstrating PLA hacking of American systems -- suggests the
administration could be taking a long called for tougher stance on
Chinese hacking by “naming and shaming” known mainland hacking groups.

Still not convinced China is a threat? The U.S. Government is: