China: We Don't Hack the U.S.
This week has been filled with reports about the apparent hacking of the Pentagon.
A report in the Wall Street Journal claimed that cyber-spies had hacked into the Department of Defense’s most expensive project to date, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project. Citing current and former government officials familiar with the attacks, reporters at the Wall Street Journal said the attacks appeared to have originated in China. The Journal report also quoted “a person briefed on the matter” as saying investigators had traced the penetrations back “with a high level of certainty” to known Chinese IP addresses. The WSJ also included excerpts from a Pentagon report that claimed the Chinese military had made "steady progress" in developing online-warfare techniques in an attempt to compensate for an underdeveloped military.
The AFP reports that while fielding questions on the report that appeared in the WSJ, China insisted it was opposed to internet crimes. "Some people keep making up stories, I don't know what their intentions are," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told the AFP. "We resolutely oppose and crackdown on cyber crimes, including hacking."
The hacking of the Joint Strike Fighter project has come under scrutiny following a statement from the lead contractor on the project, Lockheed Martin Corp. The company said it believed the WSJ report was "incorrect in its representation of successful cyber attacks” and maintained that to its knowledge there has never been any classified information breach. The Wall Street Journal countered with the fact that at no point did they report that the terabytes of data stolen was classified.
Related Links
Tom's Guide: Pentagon Hacked, But Joint Strike Fighter Safe
The Wall Street Journal Report: Computer Spies Breach Fighter-Jet Project
AFP Report: China insists it does not hack into US computers
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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What a joke. I personally know they are hacking our stuff. I also think it's a joke that they don't crack down on cyber crimes. Let someone in China go to a pro democracy site watch how fast they get jailed.Reply
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Tedders Daniel44125What a joke. I personally know they are hacking our stuff. I also think it's a joke that they don't crack down on cyber crimes. Let someone in China go to a pro democracy site watch how fast they get jailed.How do you "personally know". Wait, maybe you can't tell us because you are a spy!Reply -
IzzyCraft Sorry China I don't believe anything you said after your blatant propaganda about the Tibetan people.Reply -
wikiwikiwhat I believe that China hasn't gotten any classified info. Why would you not act on it if you had that info? Cuz they don't have any vital info.Reply -
Parrdacc Well what a nice toss up. Who to believe. The Chinese, US Government/Military, or the Media? Tough call. Well for me the Chinese are absolutely out of the question. As for the other two....who knows? I still think it was a ploy to get government funds and more overall control, but that's just me.Reply -
No country is going admit to spying, that's insane. It could be perceived as an act of aggression, or act of war.Reply
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Greatwalrus I have a hard time believing them as China basically has us by the balls monetarily, they know it would be a bold move if we tried to dig deeper into this matter.Reply -
old man dotes "We didn't hack your stuff" "I did not have sex with that woman" "No protesters were harmed by Chinese tanks in Tianenmen Square" "Tibet is a province of China by the free choice of the Tibetan people"Reply
Yeah, I believe all of that. Come ON, China is the source of the gods only know how much spam for illegal products and the Chinese government is perfectly happy to let that go on as long as it's not Chinese addresses being spammed, Chinese cyberthugs steal passwords and install keyloggers with tacit government approval, why would anyone think the Chinese government would shy away from hacking foreign government systems to spy on them? Let's be realistic, the NSA would do that in a heartbeat, and the Chinese government isn't any more honest than the NSA.