WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Chinese cyberwarfare would pose a genuine risk to the U.S. military in a conflict, for instance over Taiwan or disputes in the South China Sea, according to report for the U.S. Congress.
Operations against computer networks have become fundamental to Beijing’s military and national development strategies over the past decade, said the 136-page analysis by Northrop Grumman Corp. It was released yesterday by the congressionally created U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
The report, based on publicly available information, said Chinese commercial firms, bolstered by foreign partners, are giving the military access to cutting-edge research and technology.
The military’s close ties to large Chinese telecommunications firms create a path for state-sponsored penetrations of supply networks for electronics used by the U.S. military, government and private industry, the report added.
That has the potential to cause a “catastrophic failure of systems and networks supporting critical infrastructure for national security or public safety,” according to the study.
On the military side, “Chinese capabilities in computer network operations have advanced sufficiently to pose genuine risk to U.S. military operations in the event of a conflict,” it said.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, without referring to the report, said Thursday that he was not even “remotely satisfied” with U.S. ability to deal with cyberwarfare.
