About 10 years ago, people could probably only see something like this happening in a science fiction movie; wars being fought in cyberspace. But there is no fiction about it now. The Department of Defense reported that China is building cyberwarfare capabilities for purposes like first-strike initiatives. Knowing that China has the largest standing army in the world, this could be a massive threat. With some of the reputable hacking groups such as ‘Titan Rain’ in the past as well as the paradigm shift towards technology dependence, these cyberwarfare facilities could have detrimental impacts on anyone. Let’s just hope that we are developing countermeasures for these kinds of acts…

The People’s Liberation Army in China is building up its cyberwarfare capabilities, even creating malware that could attack enemy computer systems in first-strike attacks, according to a report from the Department of Defense.

The PLA, which is the largest standing army in the world, has established information warfare units geared to developing viruses that can attack enemy computer systems and networks, the Defense Department reported. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2000 mandates that the secretary of defense make an annual report to Congress on the current and future military strategy of the People’s Republic of China.

This year’s report, which was released late last week, said China also is building up “tactics and measures” to protect friendly computer systems and networks. In 2005, the PLA began to incorporate offensive computer operations into its exercises, primarily in first-strike tactics against enemy networks.[more]

Tags: Malware