Chinese Cyber Warfare Threat to be Analysed at Cyber Warfare Europe as Rhetoric Heats up Between US and China

LONDON, June 29, 2011 -

As China-based organisations are increasingly accused of
launching cyber warfare attacks, LtCol USMCR (RET)
Bill Hagestad from the US Marine Corps, will be
discussing the intent and scale of the threat from China at
Cyber Warfare Europe 2011.

Recently reported network attacks on Lockheed Martin and
attempted hacking of the Google email database for senior US
military personnel and Chinese human rights activists have been
linked to China, raising tensions between the US and China as both
countries begin to accelerate their cyber warfare
strategies.

As part of the Pentagon’s formal cyber strategy,
it announced in plain terms that cyber attacks do
indeed constitute an act of warfare.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, a US
military official stated that cyber attacks could be met with a
kinetic response. He was allegedly quoted as saying, “If you shut
down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your
smokestacks”.

An article in the Chinese-language Liberation Army Daily, which
was also published on China’s Ministry of Defence website, stated
that, “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.”

Even though it is unlikely that all-out cyber warfare
will break out, the heightened tensions between the US and China
increasingly dominate the cyber battlespace. At
Europe’s pre-eminent Cyber Warfare event,  LtCol
USMCR (RET) Hagestad will look at the China cyber warfare
threat within the context of China’s history and explore the
intent behind China’s cyber warfare capabilities. His
session will include the:

• Definition of the Chinese cyber threat
• Organization of China’s PLA Cyber Command, key
  personalities
• The 8 Pillars of the PLA‘s Cyber Warfare
  Strategy - mapping East to West
• Specific case studies of cyber attacks by the PLA
• Interests and Intent of the PLA Cyber Command

The timely post-conference seminar has already generated major
interest from senior military professionals and is fast-becoming
one of the major highlights of Europe’s premier Cyber Warfare
event. If you would like to attend LtCol USMCR (RET) Hagestad’s
post-conference workshop or learn more about Cyber Warfare
Europe, visit www.cyberwarfare-europe.com.

Sharmin Ahammad - sharmin.ahammad at iqpc.co.uk, +44(0)207-368-9543