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Carlos Barria / Reuters
A general view of 'Unit 61398,' a secretive Chinese military unit on the outskirts of Shanghai on Feb. 19. The unit is believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks, a U.S. computer security company said, prompting a strong denial by China and accusations that it was in fact the victim of U.S. hacking.
BEIJING – A group of hackers linked to the Chinese military has stolen reams of sensitive data from more than 100 prominent American companies and organizations, according to an explosive new report.
“The details we have analyzed during hundreds of investigations convince us that the groups conducting these activities are based primarily in China and that the Chinese Government is aware of them,” U.S. computer-security firm Mandiant Corp. said in a 74-page report released on Tuesday.
The story was first reported by The New York Times.
One group originating from China that Mandiant had been tracking since 2006 and identified in the study as “APT1” allegedly swiped data from 141 companies in 20 industries ranging from aerospace to telecommunications, according to the report. More than 110 of those companies were American, according to Mandiant.
Mandiant said that the data suggests that the hacker group was either working for or sponsored by China’s People’s Liberation Army. Indeed, according to the organization’s information, APT1’s activity originated from a People’s Liberation Army cyberware division known as “Unit 61398.”
“Our research found that People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) Unit 61398 is similar to APT1 in its mission, capabilities, and resources,” it said, according to the report. “PLA Unit 61398 is also located in precisely the same area from which APT1 activity appears to originate.”
Mandiant said that the hacking originated from a drab 12-story office building on the outskirts of Shanghai. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of operatives performed covert corporate espionage and extracted trade secrets, blueprints, pricing data and other corporate information from countless American servers from the innocuous tower, according to Mandiant.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on Thursday that Chinese hackers repeatedly penetrated their computer systems. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
The hackers used techniques like “spear-phishing” -- using spoof emails to trick users into granting access to internal servers --demonstrating a strong proficiency in the English language and advanced understanding of computer security and network operations, the organization said.
Media blackout
Though the story exploded on Twitter and in the foreign news media, it has hardly made any waves in China. Twitter has long been blocked in the country and foreign media companies that broadcast on the mainland like CNN were blacked out when the report was mentioned on air.
Coverage of Mandiant’s report was also absent from Chinese news websites, but some discussion of the report could still be found on China’s Twitter-like service, Weibo.
“Chinese hackers are so capable! I always thought Americans are very powerful!” exclaimed one user.
“Reports by foreign media cannot be fully trusted,” warned another user, “but there must be something.”
Related: Wall Street Journal infiltrated by Chinese hackers
This was a sentiment partly shared by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, who responded today to questions about the hacking report by calling them “groundless” and reiterating the government’s unwavering position on the matter.
“To make groundless accusations based on some rough material is neither responsible nor professional,” he said, before noting that China was also the victim of hacking attacks.
Hong also argued that the new evidence provided by Mandiant and the New York Times will not withstand closer scrutiny.
But China’s cyber activities have been under increasingly closer scrutiny in recent weeks, as a slew of news stories have come out about Beijing’s reported hacking ambitions. Last month, the New York Times reported that its own servers had been attacked by hackers originating in China, possibly in response to an embarrassing expose it published showing the hidden riches of out-going Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao.
While the White House has largely remained silent on the hacking issue -- President Barack Obama mentioned hacking in his State of the Union but did not specifically cite China -- the government has been noticeably increasing efforts to strengthen cyber security.
Last week Obama issued an Executive Order calling for the improving of critical infrastructure tied to cyber security. That the move came on the eve of the publication of two similar exposes -- last week Bloomberg printed another story demonstrating PLA hacking of American systems -- suggests the administration could be taking a long called for tougher stance on Chinese hacking by “naming and shaming” known mainland hacking groups.
NBC News' Le Li contributed to this report.
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The Chinese are as racist as Americans. Who's going to rule the world? Yellow or White? What a funny world we live in!
Watch his lips. See? When they are moving, he's lying.
We must not be smart enough to keep this info safe guard. Keep your s#it off the grid away from hackers. Way too much information easily available to anyone any where in the world! Do nothing Congress and the spinal turds that run our government sit on their hands and look the other way. On the flip side, you know our geeks are hacking up their crap aswell. 21st century spy games. Can't wait till somebody turns off the lights somewhere, that'll be fun!
Its called good old know how.
one just has to step up to win this game.
We need to block all internet traffic from China, and stop all economic relations with them. NOW.
Yes, it will cause short term hardship here, as we will need to learn how to make our own stuff again, but we are sleeping with the enemy, and they are kicking our butts.
PS: We should punish the Chineese government for this state sponsored terrorism by fining them exactly as much as we owe them. Deficit problem solved.
We make everything is China including the iPhone, the Chinese steal everything.
Solution-pencil and paper. Cannot be hacked, stolen or tampered with by outside forces. Might even consider development of something like an eraser to be placed on the top of the pencil. It would cost billons but it seems worth it.
Read the latest Clancy book. This is real and it is scary. As computers and operators get more sophisticated there will be attempts to disrupt power grids, transportation control, etc. Whole new definition of terrorism.
dont worry about retaliation by the jellyfish we have in washington. too worried about hanging out with jay z and nicki minaj than getting this economy straight and taking a stance with China. He knows that his economoic platform only calls for more spending which in turn will require more borrowing from the slant eyes so he will do nothing but turn the other cheek like he does on all issues unless someone wants a hand out.
Why hack us? Don't they build most of the components anyway? Just have an 8 year old girl / boy reconfigure a chip on the assembly line, and presto! It would take 3 weeks of our dumb-ass union bureauracracy to accomplish the same thing...
If the current PRC regime can't control its military its time for Chinese outside the PRC to start working for a regime change as part of the reunification of Mainland China with Taiwan. I'm sure the KMT is just (if not more) vicious, corrupt, and devious as the PRC hackers, but the PRC's current military structure is a civil war just waiting to happen. Tienanmen never would have happened the way it did if outside troops from Mongolia hadn't been called in to nip things in the bud. The people of north and south China don't even speak the same language. If they continue tolet idiots in the military play this kind of hardball with these aggressive acts of war there is going to be all hell to pay and they are going to find that we can play the same games they do only better.
Ok, here it is for the people that care. I think we should stop dealing with that secretive ass country China and BRING BACK OUR MANUFACTURING... The only reason why our country is strong in the first place is because of the industrial boom. We don't need taxes, we don't need to cut spending, all we need to do is bring back our manufacturing business... where people without education could still make an honest living. I don't know what is the government problem and why they don't realize this?? I thought of this idea back when i was a freshman in college, and here we are still arguing about Obama ruining the damn country well if you don't like what's going on here then leave point blank, go live in a country where you have no freedom.
Sally - one word. SURVIVAL. New products are routinely developed in this country, and do you where the makers of these products go to get them manufactured? Certainly not here in the USA. They head over to China for cheap labor. They have a choice but not a very palatable one. To have goods manufactured here would mean paying for all kinds of things to keep organizations like OSHA happy (work comp insurance; safety regs, etc., etc.), plus having to deal with higher wages, etc. To do so means pricing the product out of the market. There are occassional exceptions to the rule such as extreme high quality products made in smaller quantities (Martin guitars, etc). However, if you are manufacturing a shower curtain rod are you going to have it made here when it will cost $75.00 or go to China where it will cost $29.99? I bet you will pick China every time. I work in the products liability industry and I have asked dozens of manufacturers this question and the above answers are what I get every single time. If we want to fix the problem, we have to roll back some of the senseless regulations and then begin to tax the hell out of goods made overseas. But Washington won't do that for fear of angering China since they now own our sorry asses. SAD BUT TRUE!
JDTexan
So, which side of the aisle are you on? Antagonist or defense? In truth, it's immaterial. You know as well as I do, that the vast majority of "product liability" lawsuits brought against a company are in reality stupid user error. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know you don't put your foot under the deck of a power mower or try to stop a chain saw with bare hands. But people have won lawsuits against companies because the manufacturer didn't specifically warn them to NOT do so.
We're holding companies responsible for the actions or in-actions of the individual using the product. As is so often said..... you can't cure stupid.
Are the American people that stupid that they need to be protected from every conceivable form of harm imaginable or even those not imagined?
I sure as hell do not defend the system. It's broken and I couldnt agree more that plaintiffs attorneys are 90% of the problem when it comes to baseless suits. There are the occassional suits which do have merit, but those are rare when compared to the major problem. The bigger problem however, is Washington. The system is broken and Washington will never fix it because they cannot afford to have China pull its investment dollars out of the system. Like I said, they own our sorry asses!!
Damn.... JDTexan you sound like an honest lawyer!!!
However, as much as we blame Washington, we all need to look in the mirror also.
On a personal basis, I can honestly say that I buy as much American made products I can find. And that includes clothes and furniture. It's NOT that difficult.
But we really need to eliminate all the "trade" agreements, like NAFTA and giving certain countries "special partner status". Of course, we also need to remove all illegals and let our citizens work, but that's another topic for another day.
But yes, China does own us. And we keep supporting them by buying more and more of the junk they sell us.
I just feel as though whenever companies decided to take they cheap route and outsource labor to cheaper countries they were thinking about the short term gain over the long term resolution for our country. I learned a long time ago that GE used to make faulty refridgerators because they knew people were going to come back and buy their products. Well people didn't come back once they realized their products sucked, then GE had to make it up by putting out quality refridgerators to compete with the competition. I feel as though this is what going to happen to modern america, they sent it somewhere to have it cheaply made, relaized they messed up then try and bring it back here. I personally just wish we didn't deal with China all together.... That's all.
And what would we "do" about China? Seems more like what will China do about us at this point.
piss and moan, piss and moan...is that all you guys/gals ever do?
Jim-658640 I couldn't agree more. This country's better days are far behind us - contrary to what they tell you anytime a politician steps up to the mic. Countries like China act with impunity whenever they steal secrets from the US - who in Washington is going to bite the proverbial hand that feeds them? The only thing it seems that we as a country care about anymore are BS social issues that at the end of the day don't make a damn bit of difference when it comes to our survival as a country.
If you look closely, you'll see that the same people who are the wrong side of those "BS" social issues are the same ones selling us down the river to Communist China and its Jihadist pals. Communism teaches that the best way to take down a capitalist society is to attack institutions such as organized religion, marriage, parenthood, and family. Marx, Engels, and Lenin advocated this. So don't think we can seperate social, economic, and security issues. Either you're conservative straight across or you're with China.
I am as conservative as they come. What I mean is how every time I read the news or turn on the tube, I am having a homo agenda shoved down my throat or seeing how "gay is the new black" and how there is a "war on women" and how Cuomo thinks women need late term abortions, and how Muslims want to build a mosque on Grant's tomb or some such other nonsense. The conservative voices in Washington have gone silent because they think "the country has changed." Boo hoo hoo! God it makes me want to puke! When will people in this country stand up for our survival?
To hell with China. Quit doing business with these scam artists. Hack the living daylights out of their systems.
The truly sad part of all of this is that China owns so much of our debt that we can't do anything except shake our fist impotently while China makes plans on which of our natural resources they are going to take when we finally default on the national debt. One day China will stop lending us money and that will start a domino effect. Suddenly, America's credit rating will go into the toilet and we will not be able to borrow any more money. It won't matter how big our military is when we can't buy gas and bullets.
Too bad we have a spineless, incompetent dolt in the White House.
Isn't this the plot to the latest Tom Clancy novel?
Our technological levels are so sophisticated that we can even tell China the time their leaders used their iPad in the toilets. Hacking has been around as long as most the early PC dinosaurs, and so have the methodologies and technologies to back track them to hacking sources.
And the US has armies of hackers attacking China, Iran, Russia and ect ect too! "You reap what you sow". But unlike the US gov I say GOD BLESS THE WORLD AND ALL IT INHABITANTS.
I somehow doubt that God will bless Communist regimes that imprison and kill millions for believing in God. Nor will he likely bless Jihadists who imprison or murder innocents in his name.
Nor will God bless White people for killing and enslaving millions of non-whites in the past 300 years by your logic.
Communists and Jihadists are like wolves- they can smell weakness and fear, prompting them to attack. What some would call compromise and peace, they call weakness and fear. We need leaders who have nerve and who oppose these animals.
Amen!
Hitler had many of his ideas from the US. Concentration camp...Indian removal act in the 1800s. Eugenics programs that Mengele ran were paid for by the US elite (Gamble of Proctor & Gamble) even the US ran Eugenics programs before Hitler was even in power. Hmmmmm How soon we forget! And for a majority of US citizen colataral damage is OK even good. So will we be the only ones blessed......I think not!
Ohhh....big surprise there.
Here's a suggestion for our stupid government....
Develop super technology, keep it secret...and make damn sure you are locked down in a "cyber way". Do you actually think these jerks are gonna tell the truth about this? Become an isolationist nation again...walk softly and carry one hell of a big stick...
And tell them to shove the debt where the sun don't shine...then become fiscally responsible, instead of the path of destruction we find ourselves on....thanks to inept leadership.
They spy and hack us...we im sure do the same. the differance is we don't hear that we do it. Easy solution. take the companies and gov. servers off line. this is not rocket sci. it computer sci. lol
All modern countries intercept foreign communications of friend and foe alike. You can be sure we collect theirs.
We don't even need the internet to intercept theirs since we fly our spy planes near them everyday to do that.