U.S. And China Agree To Hold Regular Talks On Issues Of Cybersecurity

Then Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama at the White House earlier this year. Photo: Xinhua

U.S., China To Team Up On Issues Of Cybersecurity -- Globe and Mail/New York Times

The United States and China have agreed to hold regular, high-level talks on how to set standards of behaviour for cybersecurity and commercial espionage, the first diplomatic effort to defuse the tensions over what the United States says is a daily barrage of computer break-ins and theft of corporate and government secrets.

The talks will begin in July.

On Friday, President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping, who took office this spring, are scheduled to hold an unusual, informal summit meeting in Rancho Mirage, Calif., that could set the tone for their relationship and help them confront chronic tensions like the nuclear threat from North Korea.

U.S. officials say they do not expect the process to immediately yield a significant reduction in the daily intrusions from China. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, head of the U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, has said the attacks have resulted in the “greatest transfer of wealth in history.” Hackers have stolen a variety of secrets, including negotiating strategies and schematics for next-generation fighter jets.

Read more ....

My Comment: President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingping are meeting this week. I suspect they want the issue off the table so that both leaders can focus on other things (i.e. North Korea, economy and trade, Syria, etc.).