Finally, after we are forced to admit that the Chinese military owns our cyber space..

[Virginia Dare]

Bush decides to do something about it..way to go there sparky..:eyes:

The White House is preparing a new initiative to protect against what it fears could be a crippling attack against the U.S. by computer, from overseas, and in particular, from China.

After a series of cabinet-level meetings this month at the White House, computer security analysts say the Bush administration is considering creating a new agency or cyberwar center to better protect the federal government's computers and find ways to help private companies and public utilities fend off computer attacks.

Those attacks, which could be just a few key strokes away, could shut down U.S. power grids and communication and banking systems, security analysts warn.



http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/from-china-with.html

[Greyhound]

1. First step, outlaw the use of any M$ software on any networked government

computer. Fundamentally and fatally flawed, cannot be secured.

This is a real problem and potentially far more destructive than any nut case with a bomb.

We seem to have forgotten that the Chinese hate us.

[Virginia Dare]

3. From the report I saw last night..

the components that we are shipping here from China could already have trojan codes built into them, we really have no idea..:scared:

This scares me more than bombs or guns, I swear it does.

[DaveJ]

5. The firmware code would have to be written by them

A lot of things are designed in the U.S. and just manufactured overseas. For instance, I'm fairly sure IPod's firware is written in the U.S. Same for devices made by companies like Intel, AMD, etc. I guess implanting malicious code into hardware may be possible but I think that idea is far fetched.

[Virginia Dare]

6. Who knows...

that's what one "so-called" expert said. Anyway, from what I've read, the Chinese have spent billions on cyber warfare tactics, so it's conceivable.

[Greyhound]

7. Not as far fetched as you might like to think.

Consider the average IT worker, the Americans that are still employed are working twice as hard for 1/3 the wages they worked their asses off to get 10 years ago and are constantly threatened with having their livelihood taken from them. Then consider the average H-1(b) worker, toiling under the same conditions as well as being a virtual slave also under continual threat of unemployment coupled with the specter of deportation.

How difficult do you think it would be for a professional agent to convince them that it is in their own interest to simply slip an extra bit of code into that project? How much would it cost for them to figure that, should worse come to the worst, at least they would have a little nest egg to fall back on?

Don't think that there are people writing embedded code that have crappy insurance and a sick loved one? How about the Indian who's visa is nearing expiration and is looking forward to a return to India, or wherever?

[Double T]

2. Fear , terror, fear, terror, fear, terror..................

and while we are at it let's make the government even BIGGER with a new incompetent unnecessary agency.

[Virginia Dare]

4. Except I think this one is real...

the Chinese don't play around, and they're already doing it. I know for a fact, because they've attacked networks of organizations I've worked with. This is much worse than bombs.

[Double T]

9. Our brilliant government and corporations have provided china with the technology and funding

to destroy our nation; interesting how the US creates and supports their greatest foes.

[Virginia Dare]

15. And American consumers have bought and paid for it..

is this a great country or what?

[TornadoTN]

8. While I agree with the sentiment, this is a glaring issue that deserves attention

It's no secret that the Chinese have been working very hard over the past few years to get into our data networks - mainly just to explore and see what they can find. However, while they have been exploring and probing weak points (our entire data structure can be pretty much summarized as weak in and of itself), they most certainly have been working on developing a scheme to cripple our infrastructure electronically. As it stands now, this wouldn't take a lot of work.

Think of it this way - so many companies today are fully reliant on electronic forms of communication, data entry, shipping, etc. When the power goes out at most of these companies, they lose money every second the power is out. Now think about it if they were able to systematically shut down entire grids of power or disrupt systems to a point where they are rendered useless.

The company I work for has had a lot of Chinese originating I.P. addresses doing some strange things to our web servers until we found a way to prevent it. Next thing we knew, they were going after other areas of the site, apparently in the hopes of gaining access to our user databases. Sure, this happens with other countries (including our own) but we have seen malicious traffic jump so high from China that it dwarfs so many others by comparison. Come to find out - there is a startup in China that makes the same industrial products that we do (at lower cost but considerably lessened quality) that is extremely interested in getting our customer lists.

[Double T]

10. Tell me why our government supports and continues to trade with.......

communist china, our undisputed greatest national security threat and foe? The US is actually funding the very actions and behavior that threaten this nation's existence as we know/knew it.

[Virginia Dare]

16. I can tell you exactly why, Double T..

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, etc. etc.

[Eurobabe]

11. Is THAT where all my SPAM is coming from>>>????

[Javaman]

12. Yay!!! yet another new agency to hide his money laundering!!!

Yayyyyyyy!!!!!

What country is this again?

:banghead:

[Kajsa]

13. I know it's after the fact

but maybe, just maybe

the bottom line- cost- should not have taken a front seat
to security.

Cheaper parts/labor from China came at a big price.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/from-china-with.html

In addition to long-distance hacking, U.S. experts are concerned Chinese-made computer equipment could be sabotaged in ways that are undetectable, the so-called Trojan horse attack.

"My fear is that there are many, many Trojan horses, many, many malicious codes in a large number of our critical systems," Saydjari said. "And that there are just waiting to be activated through some trigger at some time."

Yeah, I know I'm dreaming.

[onethatcares]

14. that's great, another layer of government.

why not just hire the out of work IT guys here and combine them into DHS? Or are we gonna have to bring in the Indians and have a white guy as a supervisor

[Virginia Dare]

17. The ones we need to hire to do this are..

the Falun Gong, they're actually the best at fighting this.

[mainegreen]

18. Hire some white hats, actually listen to what they say, follow their recommendations.

DO NOT LISTEN TO LARGE CORPORATIONS SECURITY ADVICE!!!
ESPECIALLY IF THEY SELL SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE!!

Doubt the gov't will do that though.

[Virginia Dare]

19. No doubt that the Bush Admin is going to screw this up...

but I think it's interesting that they finally admit we've got a problem, that tells me how bad it is.