When approaching these blogs I am trying to be balanced in how I view the contemporary Cyber world. However, it is inevitable that I will have some bias and naturally I see it from a British viewpoint. Yet, aided by a cynical attitude, I am careful not to assume that the apparent ‘good guys’ are good and the ‘bad guys’ are bad. It is rare for things to be so clear cut these days and, given the rise of ‘fake news’, due diligence is required when researching articles for these blogs.
With that caveat in mind, the following case is a fascinating example of how difficult it is to define whether an activity is merely Strategic Investment, Cyber Theft or Cyber Warfare, and also trying to prove whether a state has a hand in it. (This post grew the more I researched China’s involvement in Cyber ‘activities’.)
The case hit the news at the beginning of October 2018, but in fact it refers to events which date back to 2015 that have apparently been under investigation for the past three years. The allegation is that sub-contractors in China inserted tiny microchips onto motherboards for servers being assembled by a company in the USA. Some of these servers were used in a number of areas within the US Department of Defense.
This was the Bloomberg article that scooped the news in October 2018: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies
The Guardian’s analysis of the ‘sensational’ Bloomberg article (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/13/tech-giants-us-chinese-spy-chips-bloomberg-supermicro-amazon-apple ) is that there is truth in the allegations, despite denials.
Is this Cyber Warfare? In my opinion it most certainly is, because if true, then the inescapable conclusion is that this was state sponsored.
Although the Bloomberg article describes the technical capabilities of the chips, what was/is their purpose? Here I can only speculate. Are the chips passive, but able to gather intelligence (intellectual, commercial or even military)? Or are they active, and thus could they be sent commands at the right time to disable networks and systems? Again I can also only speculate that this is part of a broad and strategic long campaign of preparation coordinated by the President Xi Jinping’s Government in Beijing.
The Guardian’s comment concludes with a “Stay tuned”; I will.
This article from a year ago (October 2017) however gives a balanced counter-point, not least because it shows that China was a victim of Cyber Warfare using ransomware developed by the US National Security Agency. ( https://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/china-cyberwarfare-cybersecurity-asia-pacific-news-analysis-04253/ )
Staying on the subject of the Chinese Government’s strategic intentions, a member of the public like me would be forgiven for being confused about whether China poses a threat or not. At the heart of this confusion is the potential Cyber threat and trying to interpret China’s activities with that in mind.
You may recall the doubt about the UK Government allowing Chinese funding to finance the Hinkley Point power station project and the security misgivings it caused, and also similar concerns about the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei’s smartphones and broadband infrastructure. See these two articles:
- From August 2016 about Chinese investment in Hinkley Point: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/beta.scmagazineuk.com/amp/concern-chinese-involvement-hinkley-point-misdirected-say-experts/article/1476831
- From July 2018 about Huawei: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/19/huawei-security-risks-threaten-critical-uk-broadband-phone-networks/amp/
What do I deduce from these articles? No clear answer either way, which therefore leaves me feeling doubtful about China’s activities, i.e. I am concerned that the UK is vulnerable. Indeed this concern is supported by China’s activities outside cyberspace with China’s action’s in the South China Sea being a prime example (an area Jinping recently ordered to be prepared for war: http://uk.businessinsider.com/chinas-president-orders-military-to-prepare-for-south-china-sea-war-2018-10?r=US&IR=T) undoubtedly influenced by Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Roads initiative.
Regardless of my concerns, it may be too late. Are the digital equivalent of Sleeper Agents (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_agent ) already in place? Time will tell, I fear.
Works referenced:
Ryan Pickrell, China’s commander-in-chief has ordered the military command overseeing the South China Sea to prepare for war (2018) <http://uk.businessinsider.com/chinas-president-orders-military-to-prepare-for-south-china-sea-war-2018-10?r=US&IR=T> [accessed 30 October 2018].
Jordan Roberson and Michael Riley, The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies (2018) <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies> [accessed 30 October 2018].
John Naughton, The tech giants, the US and the Chinese spy chips that never were… or were they? (2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/13/tech-giants-us-chinese-spy-chips-bloomberg-supermicro-amazon-apple> [accessed 30 October 2018].
Elizabeth Van Wie Davis, China’s Cyberwarfare Finds New Targets (2017)<https://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/china-cyberwarfare-cybersecurity-asia-pacific-news-analysis-04253/> [accessed 30 October 2018].
Tom Reeve, Concern about Chinese involvement at Hinkley Point is misdirected, say experts (2016) <https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/beta.scmagazineuk.com/amp/concern-chinese-involvement-hinkley-point-misdirected-say-experts/article/1476831> [accessed 30 October 2018].
Christopher Hope, China’s Huawei poses security risks to UK broadband and phone networks, British spies warn (2018),<https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/19/huawei-security-risks-threaten-critical-uk-broadband-phone-networks/amp/> [accessed 30 October 2018].
Wikipedia, Sleeper Agent (2018) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_agent> [accessed 30 October 2018].
USCNPM, China, the United States, and Cyber-Warfare (2013)<https://www.uscnpm.org/blog/2013/03/06/china-the-united-states-and-cyber-warfare/> [accessed 30 October 2018]
Here are some articles and videos on China which you might find interesting if you wish to learn more about current affairs relating to the South China Sea & The Roads and belts initiative:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/08/15/the-south-china-sea-is-the-future-of-conflict/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luTPMHC7zHY
Swansea Student Blog on Cyber Warfare 