China cyber units may bypass US network defenses in 5 years: WaPo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Washington Post
24 Apr 2023 21:05

Newly leaked documents claim that China is actively engaged in a plan to bypass defenses used by US Defense Department and other US government zero-trust networks.

An ariel image of the Pentagon (AP)

A leaked classified document that hasn’t previously been reported unmasked that China is testing ways to circumvent a cybersecurity model that the federal government has adopted -- this testing, alongside "advanced infiltration techniques" -- will "probably" give Beijing access to some government networks protected by the model within the upcoming five years, The Washington Post reported.

The document - dated February 23 - said, "The PLA [People’s Liberation Army of China] is seeking to improve virtual environments for testing its cyber capabilities, which when combined with advanced infiltration techniques, probably will enable China to access some USG [US government] and DOD [US Department and Defense] networks that are protected by zero-trust architectures (ZTA) within the next 5 years."

According to The Washington Post, the document's stamps imply that it is a summary of reports provided by the US intelligence community, which are often obtained from intercepted foreign communications.

In order to increase network security, as if hackers have already breached the system, the zero-trust protection model constantly demands user identity verification. The Pentagon and White House have prioritized this approach and plan to spend billions of dollars on it, as per the leaks. However, the report identified that zero-trust is a principle rather than a specific software, and it may be used in a number of different ways.

Following a 2020 hacking incident of several US agencies' networks, the Biden administration revealed the "zero trust" cybersecurity strategy that allegedly enables agencies to detect, isolate, and respond to cybersecurity threats more rapidly.

It is worth noting that cybersecurity has long been a point of contingency between the United States, Russia, and China.

The new leaks come as the US faces an avalanche of questions from its frustrated allies over the leak of classified Pentagon documents.

As early as March 2, 2023, over 100 intelligence papers were posted on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, and appeared to contain classified information on Ukraine, Russian military activity, China, and the Middle East.