China: Likely the Greatest Threat to US Cyber Security

Policymakers in the United States often portray China as posing a serious cybersecurity threat. In 2013 U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon stated that Chinese cyber intrusions not only endanger national security but also threaten U.S. firms with the loss of competitive advantage. One U.S. member of Congress has asserted that China has "laced the U.S. infrastructure with logic bombs." Chinese critics, meanwhile, denounce Western allegations of Chinese espionage and decry National Security Agency (NSA) activities revealed by Edward Snowden. The People's Daily newspaper has described the United States as "a thief crying 'stop thief.'" Chinese commentators increasingly call for the exclusion of U.S. internet firms from the Chinese market, citing concerns about collusion with the NSA, and argue that the institutions of internet governance give the United States an unfair advantage. Government officials are calling it the biggest threat to America's economic security. Cyber spies hacking into U.S. corporations' computer networks are stealing valuable trade secrets, intellectual property data and confidential business strategies. The biggest aggressor? China. CNBC's David Faber investigates this new wave of espionage, which experts say amounts to the largest transfer of wealth ever seen —draining America of its competitive advantage and its economic edge. Unless corporate America wakes up and builds an adequate defense strategy, experts say it may be too late. Can China's cyber security threat posture be mitigated by technology and human intelligence in the West? Send your comments to the Cloud and Cyber Security Center: http://cloudandcybersecurity.blogspot.com/