January 21, 2009
Steve Collins
Previous blogs have documented many media reports about Russian and Chinese cyberwarfare against the USA. The problem is getting worse. What is even more amazing is the passivity within the US government concerning this Chinese threat.
In the link below, Bill Gertz’s “Inside the Ring” segment from the Washington Times includes a subsection entitled “Pentagon Suppliers” which documents Chinese penetration of US military electronic networks and the lack of America’s willingness to defend itself. It discusses the concerns of a Congressional panel “that the Pentagon’s reliance on Chinese suppliers has threatened US computers, weapons systems and equipment with sabotage or other remote electronic tampering (emphasis added).” Amazingly, the US military’s procurement system is so lax that “we are not sure that the defense logistics system managers know what they are getting from China.” The article further states: “The report to Congress warned that widespread Chinese government computer hacking poses risks because of Chinese-supplied parts in US computer networks.” Indeed, the Pentagon’s vulnerability is evident by the discovery that it had been unknowingly using “hundreds of counterfeit computer routers made in China.”
This is an obvious danger to national security. If China can infiltrate its electronic hardware, software and spyware into the US military’s electronic systems (which it already has), China has a way to shut down or disable US military electronic equipment in a future war or crisis by crippling or shutting down US communications and weapons systems by remotely activating an encoded electronic signal in the Chinese equipment within US military electronics systems. Anyone with a clear head should be able to see this danger and take quick remedial action, right? I guess not.
The link reports that the Commission investigating this danger for Congress was given the “runaround” by Pentagon logistics agencies in charge of buying the Chinese-made parts.” The Commission urged Congress to “haul in” the uncooperative Pentagon staffers for a “classified hearing” on the problem. That is certainly necessary. The Congress should find out whether the staffers who are impeding this investigation are on China’s side or America’s side. However, since Congress has proven itself to be utterly incapable of managing the nation’s financial affairs, I am not optimistic that they are capable of handling America’s security interests either.
Ezekiel 38 warns that an alliance led by Russia, China and Iran will launch a global military attack against the USA and its allies in the latter days of this age. The USA and NATO nations are growing weaker both militarily and financially. Russia, China and Iran have foreign currency reserves while the USA and NATO nations have unpayable debts on their balance sheets. Russia, China and Iran are building up their militaries, which are being rested. The USA and NATO have greatly reduced their militaries since they “won” the Cold War, and the USA is wearing out its military forces in two Asian wars even as the costs of those wars help push the USA toward national bankruptcy. The trends are clearly shaping world events toward the inevitable fulfillment of Ezekiel 38. Under President Bush, the USA largely gave to China whatever advantage China desired. We’ll see if that trend continues under President Obama.
http://www.gertzfile.com/gertzfile/ring120408.html
