China cyber snooping on US to modernise its military: Pentagon

Zee Media Bureau

Washington: Raising eyebrows over the rapid and “robust” military modernisation programme being pursued by China, the Pentagon has claimed that Beijing is directly involved in cyber stealing from US computers.

In its annual report on China, the Pentagon has, for the first time blamed Beijing directly for the cyber attacks against the US and using its cyber capabilities to boost its military advances.

"In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military," says the report.

The 83-page Pentagon report has also zeroed in on Chinese military advances, saying, "To advance its broader strategic objectives and self-proclaimed 'core interests,' China is pursuing a robust and systematic military modernization program".

The report said China is modernizing its short-range ballistic missile force and is acquiring greater numbers of conventional medium-range missiles to increase the range at which it can conduct precision strikes against land targets and naval ships, including aircraft carriers, operating far from China's shores.

The report comes after in February, a US-based cyber-security firm, Mandiant, issued a report accusing a secret Chinese military unit in Shanghai of years of cyber-attacks against more than 140 companies, a majority of them American.

It said China is using its cyber capabilities to collect intelligence against US diplomatic, economic and defense programs. And the report warned that the computer skills needed for such espionage is similar to those needed to conduct cyber-warfare.

With Agency Inputs