U.S.-China Commission to study China’s cyber warfare capabilities
Peter Brookes (left),
and William Reinsch
The panel of China experts, which was created by Congress in 2000, evaluates and reports to lawmakers each year on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the U.S. and China.
In recent years, members of the security review commission, along with other China watchers, have expressed concern that China appears to have has ramped up its capability to engage in what’s known as "disruptive warfare," a form of non-traditional warfare that aims to undermine the qualitative advantages of an opponent. Among these disruptive means is cyber warfare.
"USSTRATCOM [Strategic Command]Commander General [James] Cartright testified before the Commission that China is actively engaging in cyber reconnaissance by probing the computer networks of U.S. government agencies as well as private companies," said a report of the Commission’s hearing on Chinese military modernization held March 29-30, 2007. "The data collected from these computer reconnaissance campaigns can be used for myriad purposes, including identifying weak points in the networks, understanding how leaders in the United States think, discovering the communication patterns of American government agencies and private companies, and attaining valuable information stored throughout the networks."
The upcoming hearing, which will run from 10 am until 4:15 pm, will take place in Room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Public seating is available on a first come, first served basis. For information, contact , associate director of the Commission, at 202-624-1409.
The China hearing will be co-chaired by Commissioner Peter Brookes, director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs under President Bush, and Commissioner William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration.
The Commission concluded in its 2007 report to Congress that security cooperation with China could lead to positive results. "Continued United States cooperation with China, and U.S. technical assistance to China, on export controls, border security, customs procedures, and port and shipping security can contribute significantly to China’s capacity to play a positive role in reducing proliferation and consequently to increasing the world’s security from terrorism and the destructive acts of irresponsible states," said the report.
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