China and the United States : hacking away at cyber warfare

Abstract

Rising cyber attacks against Western governments and companies along with speculation that critical infrastructure has been infiltrated has put China under suspicion as the world's leader in cyber espionage. Beijing is increasingly assumed to be behind any high-profile cyber assault, while the US government is faulted for an inability to protect its national interests from such attacks. Ting Xu, Senior Project Manager at the Washington, D.C.-based Bertelsmann Foundation, discusses why this situation has led to more mutual Sino-American recriminations, an alarming development between two nations whose relationship is already fraught with mistrust.