Cyber-Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Chinese
China has recently developed a completely new operating system called Kylin. According to Kevin G. Coleman, a computer security specialist and consultant to the office of the director of national intelligence, its development began in 2001. The support site that accompanied it was closed in 2008. Its development is ongoing, but now in secrecy. Kylin is being installed only on the computers of the Chinese military and government; none of the versions have even been leaked to the public.
The most intriguing, as well as dangerous, fact about Kylin is that it is different from any other known platform. The current techniques of cyber-attack and cyber-security employed by the U.S. military and intelligence forces are useless against the new and secure system. Finding ways to hack it would take a very long time. China has gained a tremendous advantage, and in the possibility of a cyber-war they will capitalise on it.
Although t
here is currently no cyber-war, minor and local assaults happen constantly. Hackers have entered the Pentagon’s network. They had succeeded in copying approximately a terrabyte of information on the design and development of a new generation of fighter aircraft called “F-35.” The first suspect in the case was China; its military is also developing new fighter aircraft. “F-35″ information would be very advantageous. Chinese officials deny the involvement of their government, stating that cyber-crimes are strictly punished in their country as well.
In most cases, the hackers are never found. Security experts can only guess whom the hackers work for and where they are from. Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies are often accused. Joel F. Brenner, the national counter-intelligence executive, stated that China and Russia are very active in cyber-space, but, “we [the U.S.] know how to deal with these.” He is less concerned about the Chinese hackers that don’t care about getting caught and leaving behind tracks. “Frankly, I worry more about attacks we can’t even see, which the Russians are good at,” he added.
According to Coleman, in case of a cyber-war between the U.S., Russia, and China, the outcome would be a tie. He estimates that the cyber-forces of the 3 nations are approximately equal. However, there are some emerging differences. Coleman stated, “What’s so interesting from a strategic standpoint is that in the cyber-arena, China is playing chess while we’re playing checkers.” Now, what is Russia playing?
