In a report by the People’s Liberation Army, China’s official communist newspaper, the Chinese government is urged to increase its cyber-warfare strength to counter-balance Pentagon’s warning against countries and institutions hacking another. The report came out after Beijing was linked to a series of Internet cyber-attacks.
For days, China was under fire when it was accused of a series of cyber-attacks and intruding into the security systems of Lockheed Martin Corp. and other US military contractors. It was also reported that it sought to gain access to Google email accounts of US officials, journalists and Chinese human rights activists.
However, the People’s Liberation Army said that Beijing is the one vulnerable to attacks. It said that the US military is trying to seize military leadership on the Internet.
“Their actions remind us that to protect the nation’s Internet security, we must accelerate Internet defense development and accelerate steps to make a strong Internet army,” the Liberation Army Daily article said.
The report is not an official government statement, but is seen to reflect the Chinese government’s official thinking. It shows that China is also focused on the issues of Internet attacks and defense.
The report also states that China’s Internet security defenses are still weak compared to the US, thus urged its government to beef-up it Internet battle technology and readiness.
In a related NewsBlaze story this month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that it is prepared to use force against cyber-attacks that it considers acts of war.
