China is escalating investment in cyber warfare
capabilities that could target US computer networks, says a US
government report.
Cyber incidents against US government websites increased by 20%
in 2008, the
US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its annual
report.
The commission expects these attacks, most of which originate in
China, to increase by up to 60% in 2009, according to
US reports.
An increasing number of attacks carried out over the internet
have
explicitly political goals, according to a report published
earlier this month by security firm McAfee.
The US, Russia, France, Israel and China are armed with
cyberweapons, with the UK, Germany and North Korea preparing for a
future in which conflict is partly conducted through the internet,
the
Virtual Criminology Report said.
Cyber attacks will increasingly become a component of war in the
next 20 to 30 years, according to report contributor
William
Crowell, a former deputy director of the US National Security
Agency.