In the wake of an influential report exposing Chinese military hacking, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) is calling on the administration to react more firmly to state-sponsored cyber attacks and espionage.
“Raising the level of rhetoric does not mean anything to bullies and gangsters,” he said at a hearing yesterday.
Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, called cyber attacks “something that should be considered a hostile government action…as if the government is supporting terrorism.”
A February report from information security firm Mandiant traces extensive Chinese cyber espionage back to a group in the People’s Liberation Army. More than 100 companies, including those in information technology, aerospace and public administration, were targets of the PLA group, known as 61398. Mandiant compiled the report entirely from open source data (Defense Daily, Feb. 20)
Echoing Rohrabacher’s push for greater repercussions, panelist Greg Autry of the Coalition for a Prosperous America laid out several policy recommendations. His suggestions include tariff on Chinese technology imports until cyber attacks stop, a ban on importing Chinese network technology, stopping the revolving door of government officials who leave to collaborate with Chinese in the private sector and limiting visas to mainland Chinese to study in U.S. universities.
Autry also questioned the “pass” China is receiving on its cyber behavior. If 61398 were located in Iran, he said, its “building would be a smoldering pile of rubble before I got to testify.”
The States Department’s Christopher Painter, Coordinator for Cyber Issues, cautioned for restraint in reacting to cyber attacks.
“How we respond depends on what the threat is,” he said, later adding, “We have to be careful about looking at this in terms of retaliation.”
Painter promoted action like the Council of Europe’s 2001 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime to produce international cyberspace norms, a position supported by other panelists. The Budapest Convention is the first and only international treaty dedicated to cyber issues.
Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, said he hoped Congress could pass cyber legislation this year.
Rohrabacher compared the cyber threat to the country’s experience after 9/11. State-sponsored cyberwar has the potential to cause more damage than the hundreds of billions in losses following the terrorist attacks, he said.
“Our government is unprepared to deal with this threat,” he said.