Cyberwar With China: Former Intelligence Chief Says It Is Aiming at America's "Soft Underbelly"

Share Comments 25 Google and the National Security Agency are engaging in a cooperative investigation to determine who exactly from China was trolling through Google's proprietary networks, including e-mail exchanges of Chinese dissidents. They are also joining together to develop new defenses against malicious intrusion and attacks on America's cyber-infrastructure.

Though America's cyber-vulnerability has long been a concern of the intelligence agencies, the Google episode has catapulted it to a national security priority.

No one knows more about China's cyberwar capacities than Mike McConnell, who was director of National Intelligence, the supreme authority over all U.S. intelligence agencies, from Feb. 2007 to Jan. 2009, and director of the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996.

After attacks last Spring on the Pentagon and the New York Stock Exchange, I sat down with him to discuss the chief suspect, then also China, and to get the lay of the cyberwar battlefield.

Some defense analysts say that 90 percent of the probes and scans of American defense systems as well as commercial computer networks come from China. So I asked McConnell what he thought about that estimate.

"I don't know if it is 90 percent," McConnell hedged, "but they are determined to be the best. Probably the best in the world in the cyber realm are the United States, then the Russians, the British, the Israelis and the French. The next tier is the Chinese.

"The Chinese," he continued, "are exploiting our systems for information advantage -- looking for the characteristics of a weapons system by a defense contractor or academic research on plasma physics, for example -- not in order to destroy data and do damage. But, for now, I believe they are deterred from destroying data both by the need to export to the U.S. and by the need to maintain a stable currency and stable global markets.

"But what happens if we have a war? A capability for information exploitation could quickly be used for information attack to destroy systems on which the U.S. depends."

Surely, though, I suggested, China is not the only one trolling around for information and probing security vulnerabilities in cyberspace?

"Every nation with advanced technology is exploring options to establish policy and rules for how to use this new capability to wage war. Everyone. All the time," McConnell acknowledged.

China is on the screen now because of Google. But, I asked, what about the terror threat?

"Terrorists groups today are ranked near the bottom of cyberwar capability. Criminal organizations are more sophisticated. There is a hierarchy. You go from nation-states, who can destroy things, to criminals, who can steal things, to aggravating but sophisticated hackers.

"At some point, however, the terrorists will get a couple of graduates from one of the best universities with skills in cyber capabilities.

"Sooner or later, terror groups will achieve cyber-sophistication. It's like nuclear proliferation, only far easier. Once you have the knowledge, you don't have to spend years enriching uranium and testing long-range missiles. It wouldn't take long to obtain a sophisticated attack capability. Unlike nation-states that have an interest in a stable globe with stable markets, the terrorists will not be deterred from damaging our data to achieve their goals." huffingtonpost

New Credit Card Regulations Kick In; BBB explains what it means to you

Credit card holders can circle February 22 on their calendar as the day when new consumer protections laid out in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 kick in. Better Business Bureau explains what these new consumer protections mean to cardholders across the US.

The US Census Bureau predicts that in 2010, the number of US credit card holders will grow to 181 million. Unfortunately, almost 75 percent of cardholders admit to not reading the terms and conditions of their credit cards, according to a CreditCards.com survey. BBB recommends that all card holders familiarize themselves with the fine print and review the new provisions set out by the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

“Credit card debt can mount when times are tight and consumers need to take the time to understand the fine print of their credit card agreements and the different fees and penalties that can chisel away at the family finances,” said Alison Southwick, BBB spokesperson. “While the new CARD Act provides more consumer protections, card holders still need to keep an eye on changes to their accounts and respond quickly if they aren’t satisfied.”

Following are just a few of the new credit card regulations and consumer protections as a result of the Credit CARD Act:

More Notice for New Interest Rate Changes. Card issuers must give card holders 45-days advance notice in the event of an interest rate change. Additionally, promotional rates must apply for at least six months and, unless disclosed up front, card holders cannot have their rate increased in the first year.

Cardholder Opt-Out. If there are significant changes made to the terms of the account, card holders can choose to reject those changes and will have five years to pay off the balance under the original terms.

Older Age Restrictions Added. Card issuers are no longer allowed to issue a credit card to anyone under 21 unless they can prove they have the means to repay debt or if an adult over 21 co-signs on the account. Credit card companies also face new restrictions on how they can promote cards to college students and can no longer offer free gifts as enticements on campuses.

New Rules for Monthly Statements. In response to complaints that bill due dates were being moved up—and leading to increased late fees—monthly statements must now be mailed or delivered 21 days prior to the due date. Additionally, card issuers can no longer set a payment deadline before 5 p.m. and cannot charge card holders if they pay online, over the phone or by mail—unless the payment is made over the phone either on the due date or the previous day.

Overpayments Go Toward Highest Interest Balances. If the card holder has varied interest rates for different services or accounts, any overpayments must be applied to the account that is incurring the highest interest rate.

Over the Limit Opt-In. Card holders must opt-in to be able to exceed their credit limit—and subsequently be charged an over-limit fee by the issuer. If a card holder chooses not to opt-in, then he or she will not be able to exceed their credit limit and incur any resultant fees.

Increased Disclosure on Minimum Payments. Card issuers must disclose how long it will take the card holder to pay off their bill if they only pay the minimum monthly payment as well as how much the card hold would need to pay every month to pay off the balance in 36 months.

Say Goodbye to Double-Billing Cycles. When calculating finance charges, card issuers can no longer employ two-cycle or double billing—a method that causes cardholders to pay interest on previously paid balances.

To learn more about the new consumer protections, Creditcards.com has a comprehensive breakdown of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. bbb

China shuts down hacker training operation

Police in central China have shut down a hacker training company that taught thousands of people how to launch cyberattacks and provided them with spy software, media reports said Monday.

The reports come amid growing accusations of organised computer hacking originating from China that has chilled ties with the United States, and follow Google's threat last month to quit the Chinese market over cyberattacks.

Police in Hubei province shut down Black Hawk Safety Net and arrested three people, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, calling the operation China's "biggest hacker training website".

The company openly offered downloads of hacker tools and trojan software to 12,000 VIP members and 170,000 others who had registered for free membership.

The Legal Daily newspaper said on its website that the company was shut down in November and that police had frozen more than 1.7 million yuan (250,000 dollars) in assets and confiscated nine web servers, five computers and a car.

Black Hawk Safety Net was founded in 2005 and headquartered in Xuchang city in Henan province which neighbours Hubei.

The China Daily quoted anonymous Black Hawk Safety Net members saying users learned how to hack into the financial accounts of others and steal funds, through courses that cost between 100 and 2,000 yuan.

The reports said authorities began investigating the company last year after finding evidence that three of its customers were involved in a 2007 cyberattack that disrupted web services in the Hubei city of Macheng.

The reports gave no further information on any cyberattacks linked to the company. afp

US faces 'serious' cyberspace threats: advisor

The United States faces "serious and significant" threats within cyberspace, the White House's top counter-terrorism advisor said Sunday, adding it was an issue of national security.

"The threats and the vulnerabilities within the cyber domain are serious and significant," John Brennan told NBC, adding a cybersecurity board had been set up at the White House.

"It's a very complex and complicated challenge, but we are working very closely with the private sector."

Last month a row over Internet freedom erupted between China and the United States as Beijing denied any state involvement in cyberattacks on Internet search engine Google.

President Barack Obama said he was "troubled" by Google's statements it had been attacked by China-based hackers, and demanded official answers.

The US Internet giant has threatened to abandon its Chinese search engine, and perhaps end all operations in the country over the cyberattacks. It has also said it is no longer willing to bow to Chinese government censors.

"We're looking at these issues from the standpoint of espionage, from governments, from different individuals, whether they be hackers or terrorist organizations," Brennan said. afp

Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July

America’s top intelligence official told lawmakers on Tuesday that Al Qaeda and its affiliates had made it a high priority to attempt a large-scale attack on American soil within the next six months.

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The assessment by Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, was much starker than his view last year, when he emphasized the considerable progress in the campaign to debilitate Al Qaeda and said that the global economic meltdown, rather than the prospect of a major terrorist attack, was the “primary near-term security concern of the United States.”

At Tuesday’s hearing, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked Mr. Blair to assess the possibility of an attempted attack in the United States in the next three to six months.

He replied, “The priority is certain, I would say” — a response that was reaffirmed by the top officials of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I.

Citing a recent wave of terrorist plots, including the failed Dec. 25 attempt to blow up an airliner as it approached Detroit, Mr. Blair and other intelligence officials told a Senate panel that Al Qaeda had adjusted its tactics to more effectively strike American targets domestically and abroad.

“The biggest threat is not so much that we face an attack like 9/11,” said Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director. “It is that Al Qaeda is adapting its methods in ways that oftentimes make it difficult to detect.”

As the C.I.A. continues its drone attacks aimed at Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, the officials also said that the network’s splinter groups in Yemen and Somalia were taking on more importance.

But Mr. Blair began his annual threat testimony before Congress by saying that the threat of a crippling attack on telecommunications and other computer networks was growing, as an increasingly sophisticated group of enemies had “severely threatened” the sometimes fragile systems undergirding the country’s information infrastructure.

“Malicious cyberactivity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication,” he told the committee.

His emphasis on the threat points up the growing concerns among American intelligence officials about the potentially devastating results of a coordinated attack on the nation’s technology apparatus, sometimes called a “cyber-Pearl Harbor.”

He said that the surge in cyberattacks, including the penetration of Google’s servers from inside China, was a “wake-up call” for those who dismissed the threat of computer warfare. “Sensitive information is stolen daily from both government and private-sector networks, undermining confidence in our information systems, and in the very information these systems were intended to convey,” Mr. Blair said.

Cyberthieves are hiring, using online ads

The people who brought the world malicious software that steals credit card numbers from your personal computer and empties bank ATMs of their cash are hiring, and they're advertising online.

Two companies that are hiring -- at least on a contractor basis -- advertise online, said Kevin Stevens, a threat intelligence analyst for SecureWorks, who presented findings on the organizations at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference outside Washington on Monday.

What they are seeking is people who are willing to take malicious code they provide and link it to something that people will click on -- like a picture of Britney Spears getting out of her car. These people then collect a fee for each 1,000 times that the malware is downloaded.

One site, for example, pays $180 for each 1,000 times that malware is downloaded onto a U.S. computer but less for computers elsewhere. It refuses to pay for any downloads to Russian computers, causing Stevens and others to strongly suspect that it, like other similar sites, are based in Russia.

"We pay your wages via the following systems: Fethard, WebMoney, Wire, e-gold, Western Union (WU), MoneyGram, Anelik and ePassporte, and PayPal," the site said.

Stevens said it was impossible to know how many computers were infected via these companies but put the number in the millions.

Security professionals in the audience for Stevens' presentation laughed at times, most likely at how blatant the web sites were. reuters

Cyber breaches are a closely kept secret

Cybercriminals regularly breach computer security systems, stealing millions of dollars and credit card numbers in cases that companies keep secret, said the FBI's top Internet crimes investigator on Tuesday.

For every break-in like the highly publicized attacks against TJX Co (TJX.N) and Heartland Payment (HPY.N), where hacker rings stole millions of credit card numbers, there are many more that never make the news.

"Of the thousands of cases that we've investigated, the public knows about a handful," said Shawn Henry, assistant director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Division. "There are million-dollar cases that nobody knows about."

Companies that are victims of cybercrime are reluctant to come forward out of fear the publicity will hurt their reputations, scare away customers and hurt profits. Sometimes they don't report the crimes to the FBI at all. In other cases they wait so long that it is tough to track down evidence.

"Keeping your head in the sand on filing a report means that the bad guys are out there hitting the next guy, and the next guy after that," Henry said.

He said the cybercrime problem has gotten bigger over the past three years because hackers have changed their attack methods as companies have tightened up security.

"It's absolutely gotten bigger, yes, absolutely," he said.

That is because the Internet is rapidly growing as a tool for commerce. As it does, consumers and companies alike are exposing valuable data such as business plans, credit card numbers, banking information and Social Security numbers.

"There are hundreds of billions of dollars that traverse the Internet," he said.

Cybercriminals are now looking beyond large companies, which in the past 10 years have bolstered security on their networks using products from software companies including Symantec Corp (SYMC.O), McAfee Inc (MFE.N) and Trend Micro Inc (4704.T). Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O), International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Websense Inc (WBSN.O) also sell products to protect computer networks. reuters