The top US intelligence official said he was skeptical that a new US-China agreement would slow a growing torrent of cyberattacks on US computer networks, adding that his approach will be to “trust, but verify.”
US National Intelligence Director James Clapper on Tuesday told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the agreement did not include specific penalties for violations, but that the US government could use economic sanctions and other tools to respond if needed.
Clapper and other officials said they viewed last week’s agreement between China and the US on curbing economic cyberespionage as a “good first step,” but said it was not clear how effective the pact would be.
US President Barack Obama on Friday last week said that he had reached a “common understanding” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that neither government would knowingly support cybertheft of corporate secrets or business information.
Asked if he was optimistic the agreement would eliminate Chinese cyberattacks, Clapper said simply: “No.”
Clapper said he was skeptical because Chinese cyberespionage aimed at extracting US intellectual property was so pervasive, and there were questions about the extent to which it was orchestrated by the Chinese government.
He said the US should “trust, but verify,” a reference to former US president Ronald Reagan’s approach to nuclear disarmament with the former Soviet Union.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it hoped both countries would act on the “common understanding” they had reached on cybersecurity.
“China and the US are two major Internet countries,” ministry spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) told a regular briefing. “Both sides have shared interests and relevant challenges.”
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