Chinese military warns of American cyber-warfare threat

The Chinese military fears cyber-warfare with the United States, as their official newspaper has stated. The 'Liberation Army Daily', while not affiliated with the government, typically reflects the views of the Chinese government due to their close relations. China demands a stronger 'internet army', as they have called it. The news came soon after China experienced difficulty among allegations of attempted hacks and intrusions upon American governmental websites and other corporations. On June 2nd, Google confirmed the Gmail accounts used of governmental officials and Chinese political activists were targeted in a phishing attack. The search giant did not officially state that the Chinese government was responsible, though it did say that the attacks appeared to have originated from Jinan, in China. Jinan is notable due to the presence of a Chinese governmental intelligence division.

Earlier this month, Google announced that the Gmail accounts of top U.S. government officials and Chinese political activists were targeted in a phishing attack designed to gain access to the users' accounts. Google stopped short of blaming the Chinese government, but the search giant said that the attacks seemed to originate from Jinan, China, home to a Chinese government intelligence division. When Google confirmed the attempts made this June, the Chinese government said the following in a statement to BBC News:

"Blaming these misdeeds on China is unacceptable."

During May 2011, the Wall Street Journal spoke of the American government, considering viewing cyber-attacks as declarations of war.

"The U.S. military is hastening to seize the commanding military heights on the Internet, and another Internet war is being pushed to a stormy peak. Their actions remind us that to protect the nation's Internet security, we must accelerate Internet defense development and accelerate steps to make a strong Internet army."

China is well known for its high level of internet censorship. Among the terms censored are the words 'Tiananmen Square', which was the site of the 1989 protest resulting in the iconic image of the so-called 'Tank Man', who stood in front of a column of three Chinese tanks to prevent their movement. The country has come under fire from other governments and groups due to the level of censorship exercised, so it is interesting to see it respond in turn.