23 November 2015

News Story: China 'Vulnerable' in Cyberspace, US Cyber Chief Warns

By Andrew Clevenger

HALIFAX — The head of US Cyber Command said China is as vulnerable to cyber attacks as any other nation, offering a veiled suggestion that further malicious hacks by the Chinese could result in reprisals in the cyber realm.

Speaking Saturday at the Halifax Security Forum, National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers, who also heads US Cyber Command, hinted that China might find itself the target of unwelcome cyber intrusions.

“To my Chinese counterparts, I would remind them, increasingly you are as vulnerable as any other major industrialized nation state. The idea that you can somehow exist outside the broader global cyber challenges I don’t think is workable,” Rogers said.

China uses state capabilities to hack private companies and steal intellectual property, then shares the stolen information with Chinese companies, something the US doesn’t do, he said. As head of the NSA, Rogers tries to learn what he can about foreign capabilities, but he doesn’t turn around and share them with Boeing or Lockheed Martin, he said.

“None of us wants behavior on either side that ends up accelerating or precipitating a crisis. That’s in no one’s interests,” he said.

Read the full story at DefenseNews