China Identified as Cyber Espionage Leader

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, China has emerged as the United States' next chief competitor. Typically, this rivalry has played out in the economic  arena, as the two nations vie for resources and market shares. Increasingly, however, China and the United States have found their tensions coming to a head in cyberspace, with reports on data breaches supposedly launched against each other emerging with greater regularity.

For instance, a recent cybersecurity report alleged that an organization within the Chinese military known as Unit 61398 had waged cyberattacks against more than 140 corporations within the U.S. as well as other nations, reported the New York Times. Chinese officials denied the allegations upon the report's release, but more evidence has emerged that lends credence to the notion that state-backed cyber espionage is on the rise within the Chinese government and presents a very real threat to the data security of American interests.

China leads the way on cyberspying
Verizon's annual Data Breach Investigations Report recorded 621 data breaches resulting in 44 million records being compromised last year, the Washington Post reported. Of those breaches, 120 incidents were identified as cases of state-sponsored cyber espionage. The vast majority - 96 percent - of those breaches were reported to have originated in China. The other four percent could not be identified, although the news outlet noted that countries such as Israel, France and Russia have all been known to engage in cyber espionage.

According to PC Magazine's analysis of the study, the main driving force behind these types of data breaches was not to disrupt foreign industries and infrastructure, but to acquire information that would support China's own national interests. This included the attempted theft of classified information, source code, trade secrets and sensitive military data.

The report's researchers noted that their figures do not necessarily suggest that cyber espionage incidents are on the rise, simply that detection efforts have become more sophisticated. Still, the latest evidence supports the theory that foreign powers are attempting to wage cyberwarfare against American interests. These incidents could have far reaching goals, extending to a number of industries and organizations. In order to protect their sensitive data, enterprises should implement extensive cybersecurity measures. One method to mitigate the damage of a penetrating network breach is to employ data encryption software. Using these tools, organizations can add an extra layer of security between their critical data files and cybercriminals and prevent unwanted intruders from accessing their contents.