Report Says U.S. Involved in Chinese Military Hacking

Hackers at a secretive unit of the Chinese military Have stolen huge Amounts of data from 115 companies and organisms in the U.S. since at least 2006, a U.S. computer security firm Said in a research report released Tuesday online.

The details made public by Mandiant Corp.. add weight to arguments That Chinese Authorities are increasingly targeting foreign firms, institutions and government agencies. Beijing dened Such loads and says China too is a victim of cyber attacks.

Based in a 12-story office tower in Shanghai's Pudong district, 61398 Unit of China's People's Liberation Army "is government-sponsored and Likely one of the MOST of China's persistent cyber threat actors," Said Mandiant.

Unit 61398 "has stolen Systematically Hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations" in diverse industries and mostly in the U.S., Said the report, without naming Any FIRMS. "It is time to acknowledge the threat is Originating in China, and we wanted to do our share to arm and prepare security professionals struggle to Effectively That threat," it said.

China is the "most threatening actor in cyberspace," Concluded a draft report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission last November, Bloomberg reported about, as China's intelligence agencies and hackers try to access U.S. military computers and defense contractors.

Last Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama signed Executive Order to Improve year protection of the country's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. "We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are seeking aussi The ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions and our air traffic control systems, "he Said in his State of the Union address the same day.

Mandiant The report, titled "Exposing one of China's cyber espionage units," Said stolen data included blueprints, pricing documents, details on mergers and acquisitions, emails and contact lists. The hacking group included hundreds and possibly Thousands of English speakers with advanced computer skills, Said Mandiant.

In a new book, Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, criticizes China as the world's "most sophisticated and prolific hacker," selon quotes published in the Wall Street Journal. Google HAS tussled with Chinese Authorities over the nation's strict censorship of the Internet.

In common with Denials Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed the allegations Mandiant as "groundless" Tuesday. After the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal Earlier this month complained about extensive Chinese hacking, a commentary in the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, the U.S. was seeking Said excuses to expand icts "Internet army."

Given the Lack of Chinese media coverage on this sensitive issue, there was little debate Tuesday on the nation's booming censored purpose micro-blog sites. Unlike Unit 61 398, some Chinese hackers, leaning heavily on Their patriotic duties for protection, do not bother to hide. On the Hongke ("red guest") website, icts name a play on the Chinese for hacker - Heike, Guest or Black / Dark Visitor - some recent posts insulted the U.S. for complaining about the high cost of Chinese cyber espionage.