The threat of computer attack from China is growing, according to the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations citing a report by Symantec.
In addition, U.S. intelligence officials say China is a leading threat against U.S. nuclear weapons research facilities and that one key method is to make inquiries to nuclear scientists by email.
China gained valuable nuclear secrets from the United States through a careful program of eliciting information, often from U.S. scientists and technicians who visited China.
Three nuclear scientists have been linked to spying for China in the past: Wen Ho Lee, who worked in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s X Division, where nuclear arms are designed, was suspected of passing secrets to China but was recently cleared of all charges. Los Alamos scientist Peter Lee pleaded guilty in 1985 to passing secrets to China, and Gwo Bao Minh, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist passed secrets to China.
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky) told a hearing last week that a computer security report highlighted the threat from China. Whitfield said there is a “rapidly increasing cyber threat originating from China.”
He noted that a March 2006 report from Symantec indicated that “attacks originating in China last year increased by 153 percent.”
“According to Symantec, these attacks from China are likely signs that more attackers have become active within the country,” he said.
Gregory Friedman, Energy Department inspector general, told the hearing that controls over 800 information systems at weapons labs need to be improved.
During a recent review of cyber security, “we noticed systemic problems that exposed the department's critical systems to an increased risk of compromise. Specifically, the department had not yet established a complete inventory of networks, applications, or external interfaces,” Friedman said.
