Penn State Yanks Engineering Network From Internet After China-Based Attack

coondoggie writes: Penn State's College of Engineering has disconnected its network from the Internet in response to two sophisticated cyberattacks – one from a what the university called a "threat actor based in China" – in an attempt to recover all infected systems. The university said there was no indication that research data or personal information was stolen in the attacks, though usernames and passwords had been compromised.

Comments

A logical response

[Anonymous Coward]

There are Chinese nationals at Penn State and every other university in America, displacing our own people. Why don't we start revoking student VISAs as a response?

Re:A logical response

[epyT-R]

Because the radical left on campuses would say that's racist and 'anti-social.'

Re:A logical response

[Anonymous Coward]

Because that would create a major diplomatic incident over something that you have no evidence involves any State players. Just because the attack is based in China does not imply that China was behind the attack.

Re:A logical response

[Anonymous Coward]

Because Microsoft would lose all their new H-1B employees.

Re:A logical response

[ShanghaiBill]

Because the radical left on campuses would say that's racist and 'anti-social.'

And the left would be right.

Re:A logical response

[Feral Nerd]

There are Chinese nationals at Penn State and every other university in America, displacing our own people. Why don't we start revoking student VISAs as a response?

Because the radical left on campuses would say that's racist and 'anti-social.'

Here's a thought... perhaps we should stop this xenophobic whining and retaliate against the culprits rather than applying a shotgun remedy like revoking the student visas of every Chinese person in sight regardless of whether they were involved in these attacks or not? The "drop a 2000lb bomb on it" approach may be intensely satisfying, especially to the political right. However, it causes collateral damage, it is therefore inelegant and it reeks of stupidity and desperation. Just play the old eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth game. If the Chinese can set up 'cyber warfare' units and think they can attack the USA with impunity in times of peace without it being an act of war then surely they will not complain if the USA uses the 'cyber warfare' branch of it's military to launch attacks inside China against the assholes who are doing this? ... and if they do complain about being hoisted by their own petard then they'll just look pathetic. The USA does have a credible 'cyber warfare' capability does it not?

Re:Just block China already.

[Virtucon]

So protecting your data and your intellectual property is racist? That's a new play on the race card. It's not about blocking the Chinese people from accessing information, shit their own government does a pretty good job of that already. It's about blocking concerted, direct espionage against US companies, educational institutions and the government. It's not some pimple faced teenager trying to break in for fun, it's about the theft of our technology. Sure, technology leaks and history is replete with examples but this wholesale theft needs to be curtailed and if necessary start blocking IP address ranges; better yet we need a great firewall of China for traffic going to/from China.

Re:Penn should hire Hillary's cybersecurity people

[bobbied]

What do you say of the cybersecurity surrounding Hillary Clinton?

It sounds like Penn should hire Hillary Clinton's cybersecurity people. There is absolutely no evidence at all that her basement mail server was ever hacked.

Of course there is no evidence.... She literally erased EVERYTHING on the server. Oh sure, she had some e-mails printed, but the server, and the E-mail supposedly on it where erased before anybody had a chance to look. All we really have is her word that it never was hacked, not that she'd know if it was anyway.