Mary Kay Magistad

Mary Kay Magistad

Mary Kay Magistad has been The World's Beijing-based East Asia correspondent since 2002, focusing especially on a rapidly changing China and the impact of China's rise on the region and the world.

  • |
  • ALL POSTS

China’s Careful Reaction to Hacking Report

February 19, 2013 ⋅ Post a comment

China Hacking (Photo: Mandiant/Google)

US computer security company Mandiant has issued a report, tracing a wave of cyber attacks against American targets to one Chinese military unit in Shanghai.

China suggests the allegations in the report are “groundless.”

Anchor Aaron Schachter discusses the Chinese reaction with The World’s Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing.



Read tweets about China and cyber-espionage




Discussion

One comment for “China’s Careful Reaction to Hacking Report”

  • nn

    I just listened to the audio report on China’s hacking, or cyber attacks. But nowhere in the report did the reporter actually describe the nature of these “attacks”. Indeed, I wish reporters would STOP using phrases like “cyber attack” or “hacking” or “hack” or even “infiltration” because NONE of these words are descriptive or informative. Is China conducting espionage? If so, then against who or what, and for what apparent purpose? And why, if it’s espionage, were they detected? Are they conducting the equivalent of the old border flyovers, to trigger and then survey the opponent’s radar/intruder-alert system? Are they actually conducting offensive, and explicit assaults designed to damage or cripple services, or software or hardware — and if so, then against who, for what possible purpose? Or are they conducting very small-scale “test” assaults? Just WTF are they doing. I learned next to nothing from this report. And that, I am afraid, is typical of the media coverage on cyber security (you even included the expert who says the US is woefully unprepared and vulnerable to “cyber attacks”. Never heard that before….)