Chinese Hackers Might Be Preparing For War

Thibault Serlet

In March 2015, the Chinese were caught DDOSing popular code-sharing website GitHub. This is but one in a long series of devastating Chinese cyber-attacks. The purpose of this attack was to shut down various services which allowed Chinese citizens to bypass their government’s internet censorship.

Lurking past the numerous well-publicized news stories fear mongering about ISIS, Russia, or Iran there lies a much more sinister danger. It is very possible that a series of nationwide Chinese hacks have the intention of probing American defenses.

Few Americans realize the extent of the damage which can be done through hacking. Intuitively, they assume that the worst case scenario is a data breech. As frequently discussed on this blog, much more is at stake. Self driving cars, power grids, drones, air traffic control, water infrastructure, and many other soft targets could be easily attacked at any moment. In the 21st century, a single skilled hacker could easily be responsible for millions of deaths.

Business Hacks- The Tip of the Iceberg

The Chinese are already known to be responsible for dozens of major computer security breaches. Alarmingly, most all of these attacks occurred in the last five years. All the attacks have been denied by Chinese officials.

Bush administration NSA director Mike McConnell warned that the Chinese had hacked all major American corporations to gather valuable information. Recently, attorney general Eric Holder prosecuted five suspected Chinese spies for allegedly hacking major American corporations.

America’s second largest health insurer, Anthem, was also hacked by the Chinese in 2013. The private records of 80 million customers were stolen. Register.com was, according to the FBI, hacked by the Chinese military.

The Chinese May Be Preparing for Cyber War

Business hacks are relatively innocuous. The writers of this blog suspect much more is at stake; there is a darker pattern behind the Chinese hacks: preparation for an electronic confrontation with the United States.

If the Chinese were planning for war, the most obvious target would be military contractors. The Senate Armed Services Committee have identified 20 instances where the Chinese army successfully attacked military industrial complex targets such as Lockheed Martin.

In September 2014, Chinese hackers reported hacked into the Federal Weather Satellite System . Although the motives of the attack are unknown, one possible explanation is that the Chinese wanted to find out if the weather satellites were in fact spy satellites.

Also in September 2014, the Chinese hacked the US Postal Service stealing the data of over 800 000 employees. Package and mail data could be used to data mine the strength of various military assets.

In what is perhaps the biggest data breach in recorded history, the Chinese hacked Google along with numerous other major American companies in an event which has since been dubbed Operation Aurora. Although the extent of the hacks is still unknown, Google left the Chinese market as a result of the incident. Considering Google’s 2013 acquisition of military robotics contractor Boston Dynamics, Google may well be one of America’s most strategically important targets.

The Mother Lode: The Electrical Grid

Current NSA chief Admiral Michael Rogers has warned of the dangers of a Chinese attack on the American power grid. He said that the previous wave of hacks is a reconnaissance mission for a much greater cyber-attack. Considering that the NSA is home to the world’s largest collection of electronic intelligence data, his warnings are very credible.

General Keith Alexander stated that the Chinese are practicing blowing up American pipelines and shutting down the infrastructure. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant released a report stating that PLA Unit 61398 hacked numerous American power grid targets from a location outside Shanghai. Mandiant was itself the victim of a Chinese attempt at spear fishing in early 2013.

The San Jose SWAT-Style Physical Infrastructure Attack

Few Americans have heard about a series of highly sophisticated attacks by unknown assailants on Californian power grid structures.

It is important to keep in mind that nobody has found any evidence tying the Chinese to this attack.

In April 2013, one day after the Boston Marathon bombing, a sniper and five other men attacked 17 transformers in San Jose, California causing 15 million in damages. The special-ops style attack was well orchestrated. Around 1 am, two individuals crawled from manholes at the Metcalf substation. First, they cut the fiber cables around the station to delay communication with law enforcement. Their initial attack knocked out cell phone coverage, 911 services, and landline service to the substation. They proceeded to fire more than 100 rounds from high-power sniper rifles at the station. In addition to the rifle, there is evidence the attackers also used AK-47s. The cooling oil dispenser was damaged, causing a meltdown.

At 1:31 am, a nearby security camera recorded a flash of light the FBI believes was a signal used by the attackers. At 1:51 am, police arrived on the scene, but the attackers had already left. No fingerprints, or other identifying evidence were found on the scene.

The incident was described as “the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has over occurred” by Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission.

Making the incident even more troubling, is that the same station was attacked roughly a year later. Unknown assailants cut through the substation’s fence without triggering the alarm system, and stole equipment. It is unclear if the attacks are related, and possible the second attack was an example of theft.

Once more, there is no public evidence linking the Chinese to the series of sophisticated power grid attacks. However, considering the extensive series of Chinese hacks, especially those concerning the power grid, along with the expertise of the attack, the possibility that the Chinese were testing our capabilities is distinct.

Only Cryptography Will Save Us

Regardless of who physically attacked the California power grid, one thing is clear. Foreign cyber-attacks pose a growing threat to American national security. The US government, insistent on spying on its population, has consistently hampered the progress of cryptography.

If the Americans want to remain safe from foreign attacks, they will have to encourage cryptography and relinquish their spying capabilities. The American civilization will only remain secure as long as the people are armed with cryptography. This is just another case of freedom for one equating security for all.

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