China’s Campaign Of Cyber Attacks Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions

The People's Republic of Hacking -- Adam Segal, Foreign Policy

China’s campaign of cyber attacks has reached epidemic proportions. Can anything be done to stop it?

In an extraordinary story that has become depressingly ordinary, the New York Times reports that Chinese hackers "persistently" attacked the newspaper, "infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees." The attacks began around the time journalists were preparing a story on the massive wealth the family of China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has allegedly accumulated, but the methods, identification, and apparent objectives of the hackers have been seen before in previous attacks on defense contractors, technology companies, journalists, academics, think tanks, and NGOs. Bloomberg, which published a story on the wealth of the family of Xi Jinping, China's top leader, has also been reportedly attacked. While just one case in a sweeping cyber espionage campaign that appears endemic, the attack on the Times does highlight both the willingness of Beijing lean out and shape the narrative about China as well as the vulnerability the top leadership feels about how they are portrayed.

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My Comment: It is only a matter of time before internet providers start blocking traffic from Chinese IP addresses, and governments start blacklisting known Chinese companies and individuals who are involved in this trade.