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PRC hackers trouble UK agencies

Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People's Liberation Army, have been attacking the computer networks of British government departments.

The attackers have hit the network at the Foreign Office as well as those in other key departments, according to officials.

The Ministry of Defense declined on Tuesday to say whether it had been hit. An incident last year that shut down part of the House of Commons computer system, initially believed to be by an individual, was discovered to be the work of an organized Chinese hacking group, officials said.

Security and defense officials are coy about what they know of specific attacks.

However, they say several government departments have fallen victim to Chinese attacks.

One expert described it as a "constant ongoing problem."

The disclosures came after reports that the Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June. The Financial Times said US officials called it the most successful cyber attack on the US defense department.

Defense department officials confirmed that there had been a "detected penetration" of elements of the e-mail system used by the network serving the office of Robert Gates, the US defense secretary. US officials were reported to have said an investigation had found that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was responsible.

The US gave the codename "Titan Rain" to the growing number of Chinese attacks, notably directed at the Pentagon but also hitting other US government departments.

The latest attack caused some minor administrative disruptions, but there had been no adverse impact on operations, an official said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to have raised the issue of Chinese attacks on her government's computers during a visit to Beijing. Officials here declined to say whether the British government had raised the issue with the Chinese authorities.

Alex Neill, China expert and head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said cyber attacks by the Chinese had been going on for at least four years.

He described the reported attack on the Pentagon as the "most flagrant and brazen to date."

He said such attacks reflected a new doctrine of the PLA described as "pressure point warfare" -- attacking specific nodes to leave the adversary paralyzed.

The incidents should be seen against the background of the forthcoming 17th Chinese Communist party congress, which could determine the next generation of leaders, and the PLA keen to flex its muscles, Neill suggested.

The attacks on the Pentagon's computer system were described by Sandra Bell, head of RUSI's homeland security department, as "very much a wake-up call."

"The Chinese see no difference between asymmetric warfare and conventional warfare," Bell said.

Analysts have argued over the seriousness of the attacks, and China has denied responsibility. However, the latest attack was said by officials yesterday to be the most serious discovered so far.
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