Slashdot Mirror
China's 5-Year Cyberwar Met With Western Silence
jfruhlinger writes "McAfee yesterday outlined what it calls Operation Shady RAT, a five-year campaign of cyberespionage launched by a national government against international organizations and private corporations. That government was almost certainly China's, so the question becomes: why are the Western nations silent about it? One fact revealed by the raids is that, predictions of cyberpunk novels nonwithstanding, private companies are still quite weak in the face of national governments — and it's those national governments that must act against such intrusions."
They're like fire extinguisher salesman who rave about the dangers of fire. They sell FUD. There's I'm sure some truth to this, but let's not accept whole the idea that what's good for McAfee is good for the nation.
LulzSec / Variants copy some email addresses - GET TEH TERRORISTS!!!
China wages a 5 year espionage capaign against multiple targets:
((Crickets))
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Come on now. IF the West has been secretly attacked, why would it/we launch a PUBLIC attack in retaliation. I'd be inclined to believe that there are constant "cyber attacks" in both directions. I'd say you'd be a fool not to believe that there is retaliation of some sort, after stuxnet.
Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know. --Aldous Huxley
Same misconception that people had in the 70's and 80's about Japan buying up America. Do some research before your spout off stats feed to you by the media.
US and Individuals own: 42.2%
Social Security Trust Fund: 17.9%
All other foreign nations: 11.6%
China: 7.5%
US Civil Service Retirement Fund: 6.4%
UK: 3.4%
US Military Retirement Fund: 2.1%
Oil Exporters:1.6%
Brazil(?): 1.3%
So, that means 68.6% if our debt is held by ourselves.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/246958-guess-who-owns-the-most-u-s-debt-not-china
No, sheesh, the West's combine economic output drawfs China's. They are, without a doubt, large, but they are not the largest economy in the world; they have the third largest, even then they aren't close. By most standards the US or EU GDP is nearly 3 times as high as China's. If China were to move forward and start paying their workers better they would move even further back. They can only sustain their growth as it is now by repressing their population and keeping them isolated. In this age that possibility is quickly eroding.
Quit watching the news and do some real research.
Or it's due to the fact that China could bankrupt the US by simply refusing to buy any more treasury bonds.
If they refuse to buy more I'm sure someone else will.
In order to a entice sufficient "someone else" to buy the Treasury bonds we'd have to raise interest rates -- unless the bonds are being purchased for non-investment reasons. The Federal Reserve is buying the bonds to artificially lower the interest rates on the bonds: the major side effect of this action is inflation.(1)
Or we could just default on the ones they are holding.
If we default on the ones we're holding (yeah! debt free!) then no-one in the future will buy more bonds for fear that we'll default on their holdings -- we're now an incredible credit risk. If we eventually do con people into buying our bonds again, they'll want exorbitant interest rates: just like if you walk away from your house, you'll be charge a significantly higher interest rate on your next house.
Either of your solutions means that the United States stops borrowing. While that is a good long term fix, we're currently too addicted to spending to quit cold turkey.
(1) We do have ourselves in an interesting predicament where we have both deflation going on in durable goods (cars, appliances, houses) and inflation on the consumable level (e.g., food). This shows that (a) the fundamentals are bad for the currency, and (b) consumer confidence low enough that people don't want to make major purchases. What they're forced to buy (food) is going up in price; what they can avoid buying (durables) they are.
"private companies are still quite weak in the face of national governments" [Citation needed]