WikiLeaks Foreshadows a Host of Digital Disasters

From The Fiscal Times:

Loathsome as he is, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may actually have done the U.S. a favor. In case we still weren’t convinced, it is now beyond clear that the Internet has become a cyber war zone. Among the thousands of embarrassing cables strewn across the internet by WikiLeaks recently were several detailing China’s cyber attack on Google’s computer systems last January. These revelations should squash any remaining skepticism about Beijing’s ability and willingness to use all possible means to outflank the U.S. The question is: What are we going to do about it?

For years evidence has been building that the Chinese have been developing sophisticated programs with which they could probe critical computer systems in the U.S. and elsewhere. According to the US-China Economic and Security Commission established by Congress, records of cyber events tracked to the Chinese go back to 1999, when anger over the mistaken bombing of Beijing’s Belgrade embassy provoked the defacement of numerous U.S. government sites.

In the intervening years, U.S. Nuclear Labs, the Commerce Secretary, our political campaigns, the White House computers, the State Department and NASA have all been hacked by the Chinese. Germany, the UK, New Zealand and Australia have reported cyber attacks from China and, not surprisingly, Taiwan is under endless siege. The Commission, in its recent report to Congress, said “China’s government, the Chinese Communist Party, and Chinese individuals and organizations continue to hack into American computer systems and networks…”