Tensions between the United States and China recently spilled over from economic markets into the data security realm with the countries' governments trading accusations of state-backed hackers raiding each others' secure servers for sensitive data. It has been widely reported that U.S. security officials believe that hackers, possibly with the support of the Chinese government, infiltrated American military networks and stole highly sensitive documents pertaining to some of the world's most advanced weapon systems.

Reuters reported that an official high in the Chinese government recently countered those allegations with one of his own, stating that he had access to records demonstrating that the United States has been orchestrating its own cyber espionage campaigns. However, Huang Chengqing, director of the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China, explained that accusing one another would not aid either government's goal to reduce the effect of cybercrime in the world.

"Some cases can be addressed if they had talked to us, why not let us know?" Chengqing told the news outlet. "It is not a constructive train of thought to solve problems."

Leaders look for common ground on data security
Tense relations between the two nations seemed to have thawed somewhat during a recent meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials. The Wall Street Journal reported that Barack Obama and Xi Jinping held a two-day summit to discuss several matters of global concern, including the increasing number of cybercrime incidents. Both sides took the time to air their grievances before coming to an agreement that cooperation on addressing the matter was preferable to maintaining icy relations rife with suspicions.

"What both President Xi and I recognize is that because of these incredible advances in technology, that the issue of cybersecurity and the need for rules and common approaches to cybersecurity are going to be increasingly important as part of bilateral relationships and multilateral relationships," Obama said, according to USA Today.

It has yet to be seen if this landmark meeting will stand as the beginning of a new era of partnership between nations or simply a case of politicians telling each other what they want to hear. Regardless, the meeting between two of the world's most powerful men demonstrated the seriousness with which global leaders are now considering cybercrime. To prevent hackers from accessing sensitive information, organizations from every sector should deploy comprehensive data security solutions. Beyond perimeter defenses, system administrators should utilize resources to safeguard information while it is at rest, as well. Data encryption software can provide an additional layer of security to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive files.

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