Chinese military officials have for the first time confirmed the establishment of a cyber warfare unit, Chinese media reports said.
In response to press queries, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Geng Yansheng (耿雁生) said at a regular press conference on Wednesday that based on the need for military training and to upgrade military Internet security, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had established a “cyber blue team,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Geng’s remarks came almost two weeks after the PLA Daily revealed on Tuesday last week the existence of the military Internet operations team.
The daily said the team was deployed to Guangzhou Military Region in southern China and conducted a synchronized Internet drill among different military units late last month.
The Guangzhou Military Region cyber war network, which employs more than 30 Internet specialists, cost an estimated tens of thousands of yuan to mobilize.
During the cyber exercise, the team launched multiple attacks on imaginary enemies by sending huge amounts of useless documents and viruses in an effort to paralyze enemy computer systems and steal information.
The cyber military unit will enable the PLA to launch exercises at any time and place of its choosing, whether “one to one” or “one to multiple” confrontation drills, the report said.
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