Getting Hacked Off

A matter of weeks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic visit to the White House, it has been reported that the US government may be on the verge of imposing a string of financial sanctions and even criminal indictments on Chinese individuals and businesses behind the cyber hacking of the US private sector. So far, the White House has remained rather tight-lipped on the subject of China’s alleged digital espionage shenanigans. Most notably, unlike other US government bodies it refrained from naming China as its chief suspect behind the OPM hack. However, according to The Washington Post, the White House’s silence may soon be broken. In an article published on August 30th, the journal has claimed that several US government officials – speaking on the grounds of anonymity – have affirmed that the Obama administration may officially issue the sanctions this week. Over the past years, there has been a surge in allegations by the USA against China for cyber spying on not only American businesses, but also on its government organizations. In return, China has continuously condemned the accusations as groundless. The most recent high-profile case involves the hacking of US’ Office of Personnel Management, which has been dubbed a ‘cyber 9/11’. The incident, which was announced in June 2015, saw the theft of personal records of an […]

Dec 14, 2015