US intel searching for Chinese 'malicious spyware' on army bases: NYT
The NYT alleges that the code has already been implemented in networks required for military base operations in the US and around the world.
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On Jan. 17, 2011, a Secret Service agent guards his post on the roof of the White House as a lamp post is adorned with Chinese and US national flags in Washington, DC, US (AFP)
Citing US officials, The New York Times reported that US intel is searching for a malicious computer code that they claim China created to target US military base infrastructure in the event of a conflict, including the one near Taiwan.
The NYT alleged that the code has already been implemented in networks managing power grids, communication lines, and water deliveries required for military base operations in the US and around the world.
A US official claims that the code is "a ticking time bomb," since it could attack infrastructure and interrupt US military operations, allegedly including US civil infrastructure as well.
Back in March, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly announced that the US considered China as its biggest cybersecurity threat, adding that it could be working to build up its cyber capabilities to threaten infrastructure.
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US-based Microsoft issued a warning in May that it was moderately confident that the allegedly Chinese-attributed cyber actor Volt Typhoon was developing capacities to potentially disrupt critical communications between the US and Asia in the event of a crisis.
However, in February, it was reported that the US Army had employed various aircraft to spy on China after disguising them as civilian aerial devices, according to reports by the Global Times.
Citing a Chinese technology and intelligence company called MizarVision, the report stated that the US had used all sorts of spying aerial devices, some of which it disguised as civilian aircraft, including balloons, to conduct its spying operations.
Some of the aircraft that are frequently deployed to carry out reconnaissance missions include the EP-3E electronic signals reconnaissance plane, the P-8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, the E-8C airborne command and control plane, and the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane, MizarVision told the Global Times.
