I’m a National Hero – he’s a Terrorist!
China’s economic espionage has reached an intolerable level and I believe that the United States and our allies in Europe and Asia have an obligation to confront Beijing and demand that they put a stop to this piracy.
Or what? Bomb the slitty eyed so an’ so’s? Spying, or revealing another country’s secrets, is a dreadful habit, shouldn’t do it – especially not revealing military secrets…
APT1 is believed to be the 2nd Bureau of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General staff Department’s (GsD) 3rd Department, which is most commonly known by its Military unit Cover Designator (MuCD) as unit 61398.The nature of “Unit 61398’s” work is considered by China to be a state secret; however, we believe it engages in harmful “Computer Network Operations.”
Unit 61398 is partially situated on Datong Road in Gaoqiaozhen, which is located in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. The central building in this compound is a 130,663 square foot facility that is 12 stories high and was built in early 2007.
But it’s perfectly alright when we do it…is it OK if China and its allies have an obligation to confront Mandiant and demand that they put a stop to this piracy of State Secrets?
Unit 61398 requires its personnel to be trained in computer security and computer network operations and also requires its personnel to be proficient in the English language.
I’ll hazard a guess here – Mandiant’s requires its personnel to be trained in computer security and computer network operations and also requires its personnel to be proficient in the universal computer language…
Of the 141 APT1 victims, 87% of them are headquartered in countries where English is the native language.
That’ll be because - it’ll come to me in a moment….
In over 97% of the 1,905 times Mandiant observed APt1 intruders connecting to their attack infrastructure, APt1 used IP addresses registered in shanghai and systems set to use the simplified Chinese language.
I’d be prepared to bet that Mandiant use IP addresses registered in the USA to track APt1′s activities and systems set to use the US keyboard? What think you?
In an effort to underscore that there are actual individuals behind the keyboard, Mandiant is revealing three personas that are associated with aPt1 activity.
Mandiant will be the first to run screaming to the authorities if it discovers that China is publicly identifying three of its personnel. Probably claiming their lives are at risk after being identified by cyber terrorists…
The Times this morning has come out with an article describing how the Spy Mandiant has been successfully spying on the Spy APt1 and as proof of the veracity of their claims, has sent its intrepid reporter into the back streets of Shanghai, where he interviewed informed sources:
A sales assistant working in a snack shop acknowledged that the area was teeming with PLA, and that the shop itself was owned by the wife of an officer. Asked what the soldiers of Unit 61398 did, she received a sharp elbow in the ribs from her boss: “We don’t know and we don’t care,” she said, quickly.
China is no doubt at this very moment dispatching a reporter to interview the counter assistant in the local donut store by Mandiant’s headquarters, who confirms that she doesn’t have a clue what goes on in there…
The testimony of tradesmen in the surrounding streets appeared to confirm Mandiant’s claim that the block was at the centre of a huge complex housing more than 1,000 computer servers and an army of linguists, researchers and other technicians working in support of the hackers.
The second hand car salesman at the end of the block housing Mandiant said he was sure they had all sorts of computer equipment in there and hundreds of technicians - it was very good for business he said…
Several years ago, when its operations were still gearing up, Unit 61398 was known to be recruiting in China’s best universities, enticing students with computer science skills through generous military scholarships.
What a brilliant idea, pick the best, ah, looks like America beat them to it…
Dr Irving Lachow, a cyber-security expert at the Centre for a New American Security, an independent think-tank, said that the report exposed a new trend in Chinese cyber attacks, namely the focus on critical infrastructure. “It’s one thing if they are stealing secrets from Coca-Cola, but it’s much more worrying if they are targeting information that could lead them to understand the vulnerability of our pipelines,” he said.
Dr Chop Suey, a bullshit-expose expert at Anna Raccoon, an independent drink-tank, said that the report exposed a new trend in American paranoia, namely the focus on publishing detailed plans and maps of military installations. “It’s one thing if they are stealing secrets from Soy Sauce, but it’s much more worrying if they are targeting information that could lead them to understand the vulnerability of military installations” he said.
Can you begin to imagine the outcry if a Chinese company published detailed maps and photographs identifying American soldiers?
I’m a security expert, he’s a cyber terrorist…
According to Sky News, Kaspersky believes “…we are close, very close, to cyber terrorism. Perhaps already the criminals have sold their skills to the terrorists – and then… oh, God.”
Kapersky, in the business of selling computer security; Mandiant, in the business of selling computer security; The Times, in the business of promoting fear…
Ms Raccoon lives in the Monbazillac area of South West France, renowned for its fine wines and gourmet food, so she frequently finds better things to do than sit in front of a computer all morning. She is liable to take off traveling at a moment's notice. Consequently this blog only gets updated these days when it is raining - and it doesn't rain very often round here...
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Publsihing – have you been at the “drink-tank” already?
Left over from last night….
And of course US spy satellites, with resolution-capability far-greater than Google Earth, never overfly Chinese territory, do they?
On the other hand, we in the UK allow internet searches of our now-not-so Secret Bases.
It makes you wonder what quotes the indigenous Chinese foreign holiday journals managed to get from the blue rinsed of Cheltenham, about the tourist attraction that is the rather large amateur radio station sitting on its outskirts. Starting, possibly, with ‘Full of interesting pedallers, with obsessions for ladies fashion items, who go on holiday locked inside their own bags to save on the travel costs’
So their spies are doing what our spies are probably doing? The fiends! Well, don’t put secrets on networked computers, then. Oh, and don’t leave memory sticks lying around on train seats, either.
Nicely put
Kharry On Up The Cyber
The Chinese have the great advantage that their keyboards make no sense at all to the Western mind….
http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/5551148_700b_v1.jpg
Good idea not to leave memory sticks strewn about. Such tiny things with so many ‘secrets’. I found one recently in Matalan, of all places. A headmistress had dropped it. Pupils names and addresses. Accounts. Comments. Minutes of meetings. So much on one little Gizmo. She came scuttling for it after my husband tracked her down and gave her a b*ll*****G. In spite of all the passwords and encryptions etc: Careless persons in responsible jobs do daft things with private info. Chinese….! them Russians are still spooking around too, always nosey…..especially with Mr P back in his Machiavellian role. What’s worth finding out about this god forsaken isle? Populated by labour voters who ignore the horrendous damage done to UK by their labour freakos, over 13 years of doling out tax payers money to all comers. They say Cons are cruel and hard and vicious. Incompetent wastrels are worse for countries and Europe. The Americans own Salem and McCarthyism in their CV. So they WILL get twitchy about Chinese internet spookery….it’s in their national genes.
All pretty serious I’m sure, but at a more mundane level I received a load of someone else’s emails from nhs direct on Sunday. They disappeared later. Even from my delete box. So that can also happen to mine? As well as the speed and reliability problems?
The Chinese are a long way down my list of worries.
The Chinese are spying on Britain to find out how not to run a country.
So hypocrisy is still alive and flourishing. What a pleasant surprise.
Think of the fun you could have leaving a few Memory Sticks lying around with a load of gobbledygoop on them.
All Governments Spy. The presence of Chinese spies in western countries is easy to establish due to visible characteristics. The internet allows them easy access to the data sources. Everyone does it. They do it on a scale larger. ps. They also manufacture the hardware we use for security on IT systems.
Just a thought.
Are we not making rather too much of the Chinese intelligence operation’s.
After all, when I was an Electronic/Acoustic consultant I got a letter of Chinese origin asking me if I wanted them to do any of my research on their very new and extensive facilities.
I am not an angler, but I know a fishing expedition when I see one.
Now, about 10-12 years later I find that British Steel has been sold to India, and I suppose that well-known Chinese company Jaguar cars, and the other well-known Chinese company Marconi are only predictable.
It is not my line of country, but does this not mean that we sold part of our arms industry to India, and an important part of our defence industry to china? When I saw that Marconi was now Chinese I recall literally shouting with rage.
I hope that the accountants that do these things are enjoying their no doubt massive bonuses!
Come to think of it a few years ago I was seeing adverts to entice me to join
” The British Army P.L.C” Now I don’t. I wonder whom that was sold to?
I suppose I should sign myself “Bigoted English Industrialist”, but within the past week I learn that Volvo are now Chinese. I just felt sick, and reflected that Idiocy is probably not a purely English characteristic and that I may not be bigoted.
Stan
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