I previously addressed the growing awareness in the United States of the risks associated with cyber and digital systems, yet many business enterprises still lack hardened security programs capable of protecting sensitive information. Espionage between nation-states has taken a new popular form over the past decade, and the US civilian population is slow to grasp this new phenomenon of espionage tactics. Business enterprises and the government have fallen in love with the advantages of new technology, but because of the preference for the ease of data that technology provides, many are still hesitant to address this new set of issues and vulnerabilities that our technology systems present. . The reality is that today cybercrime and cyber espionage are huge business opportunities for individuals and nation-states. This new form of espionage is affecting economic and political relations between countries and has changed the shape of modern warfare to be filled with stealthy and covert attacks; many times going completely undetected by those victims who are ignorant of the underlying goals of the attacker.
Where does most of the “cyber leakage” come from?
A formidable threat to the strength and competitiveness of the US economy is China, but what the American public largely does not understand are the Chinese strategic objectives behind the drain of business data and industry intellectual property. from USA
China views cyber warfare as a valid form of international military and commercial competition, and pursues what it calls “information dominance.” Mandiant recently tracked many of the attacks by the US Cyber Warfare Unit.
These types of low-grade commercial cyberattacks are also increasingly originating from other countries such as Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, and North Korea; many of the most notable recent disruptive intrusions can be traced back to China. Until now, Chinese cyber attackers have been able to carry out their thefts of military and economic secrets at virtually no cost.
Many countries engage in economic espionage using cyber, but the Chinese are by far the worst actors. A report generated by the National Counterintelligence Executive Office stated: “The People’s Republic of China is the world’s most active and persistent perpetrator of economic espionage, the Chinese government has stolen trillions upon billions in American R&D in this assault to our economy, and America’s competitive advantage will continue to erode until our government defends our national interest by taking effective countermeasures.” I encourage American businesses not to wait for Uncle Sam to give them the cyber protection they need; it won’t come quickly and probably not enough.
It’s important to note that it’s not just the largest companies that are vulnerable, the biggest increase has been in attacks against small and medium-sized businesses. Recently, an industry report noted that a US furniture company with 100 employees had designs stolen and it was reported that six months later the Chinese were shipping furniture to the states at half prices, quickly company went bankrupt Whether it’s throwing steel or stealing secrets, the Chinese’s motive is the same: to keep their economic engine running and maintain stability at home while undermining the economic power of the United States.
Researchers at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Foreign and National Security Policy said: “The Chinese bet everything on this (stealing secrets) because they have virtually no R&D. The only way to keep up with Western economies is to steal.” . They take everything, then sort what they have and discard what they don’t need.” To put the R&D problem between our two countries into perspective, per capita China’s R&D spending is $248.16 compared to US spending of $1,275.64 Clearly the Chinese are relying on someone else’s R&D rather than their organic efforts Chinese companies have already been sued for stealing DuPont’s proprietary method of making chemicals used in plastics and paints.
What does oil have to do with cybernetics?
It is also important to note the game played by China’s economic growth rate and the significance to other nations behind its continued expansion. Industrial growth in China also requires a high level of energy consumption to fuel its continued growth; Currently, China does not have excess energy resources, rather they barely have enough each year to meet their high demand. Chinese GDP has undergone massive expansion over the past two decades, annual GDP growth rates in China have ranged from 3.8% to 15.4% increases, and averaged over the past few years around a 6. 8%. These are staggering growth rates, but just as staggering is the number of energy sources required to fuel its continued growth. China is the main driver of the increase in energy demand until 2020, its consumables are mainly made up of coal, oil, gas and other resources. A worrisome point must be recognized, China has not yet secured an adequate supply of energy resources for its expected future demand. This power supply shortfall could have drastic results if left unaddressed; China’s leadership will not sacrifice its GDP so that it falls a lot due to the mere lack of the required energy supply. A very low GDP could have devastating results on the entire Chinese economy and act as a domino effect in continuous declines; China is not willing to consider this option and is therefore taking more extreme measures to increase its supply of energy resources. The energy required by China to produce commodities for world consumption and to maintain its high rate of GDP could be considered a “Red Line” issue for China in the future. These demands have motivated China to be more intelligent in the methods to meet its future energy demands and complement its economic development; stealing information and IP is a good option to help meet future needs.
Faulty economic and media reports are still circulating suggesting that China does not have similar resource deposits as the US and Canada, therefore Chinese motivations for partnering are altruistic to simply get good investment. Reports from China’s Ministry of Land and Resources and Oil & Gas Journal assessments have estimated that China actually has 24.6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (a high degree of confidence to be commercially recoverable). How much is technically recoverable? China itself does not have the necessary technology required to recover deep or offshore reserves nor can it successfully perform horizontal drilling recovery without the Western companies that developed these capabilities and currently possess this crucial drilling and recovery information.
We see the ongoing territorial disputes in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are home to large-scale oil and gas fields. China is in a ‘all-out press’ to desperately secure resources for its future energy demands.
It is also interesting to note that China’s total production of oil and liquids has increased in the last 20 years, similar to its rate of cyber and corporate espionage. As China’s production and supply deficits worsen, relative to its increasing rate of consumption, we will also see China’s motivations and tactics increase commensurately.
Chinese oil company Cnooc aggressively pursued offshore deals with Canadian and US oil producers, resulting in its expanded resource base. However, these Chinese companies that invest in US and Canadian crude are just as concerned about acquiring the technology and knowledge from these deals as they are about the promise of sending some of that oil home.
How much is China costing the United States?
Today, cyberattacks cost businesses $400 billion to $500 billion or more a year; 71% of data breaches now target small businesses and 60% of small businesses that have experienced a data breach are out of business within a year of the breach. The National Crime Prevention Association reports in 2015 that 45 percent of all US businesses reported specific losses due to intellectual property theft. These digital information thefts cost US businesses $250 billion a year. 2014 reports from the Center for Responsible Business and Trade and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimated that trade secret theft costs the US and other advanced economies between 1% and 3% of their GDP on average each year. anus. Intellectual property thefts do not discriminate; they threaten all major industries, medium and small businesses alike.
It is recognized that the proliferation of counterfeit products on the market is directly proportional to the reduced strength of the US economy. Businesses lose profits, the demand for labor falls, employees lose their jobs, and then consumer spending falls.
It is time for citizens to take notice of the growing trends and aggravating impacts of low-grade cyber theft in the United States. It is essential to understand the global motivations and chameleon tactics that are used, through technological systems, to steal jobs and global competitiveness from our economy.
