"This Is A Major Move For China": Beijing Prepares Cyberscurity Rule In Retaliation Against US''

While China is still debating whether or not to implement rare-earth quotas or use any of the other "nuclear options" it has available in response to escalating trade and tech war, the Global Times reports that a new cybersecurity rule indicates possible retaliation against the US as it could set the stage for Chinese regulators to take necessary action against US technology companies if their products and services are found to pose a threat to China's national security, the Global Times reported overnight. Under the draft regulation, which is a direct response to rising pressure on Huawei by the US and various other nations and which was released on Friday for public comment, companies involved in key information infrastructure would face cybersecurity reviews by regulators, if they acquired internet products and services.

In what is China's response to America's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, nearly a dozen government agencies, including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Commerce, will set up a mechanism for cybersecurity reviews and the CAC will set up an office to coordinate the efforts. If acquisitions of products and services could cause disruption to key information infrastructure, or major losses of personal information and important data, or pose other security risks, they must be reported to the CAC's cybersecurity review office.

"This is a very major move for China to step up its efforts in protecting its cyberspace security," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Sunday. "Establishing an effective cybersecurity review mechanism is very important for the country," he said, a hint that since the US will block Chinese acquisitions, Beijing will do the same although it's not quite clear how China - a crhonic thief of offshore technology will benefit from this. In 2016, China adopted a cybersecurity law that paid great attention to protection of national security and privacy and offered great leeway for security officials and regulators to conduct oversight of the country's massive internet sector. The latest draft regulations are aimed at improving enforcement of those laws, Xiang said. But the timing of the new regulation has also gained much attention and even speculation that China could retaliate against the US crackdown on Chinese tech giant Huawei by also using national security reviews.

"[The Huawei case and the new regulations are not inherently] related but I think this also gives officials a direct tool to investigate US companies if they pose cybersecurity risks," Xiang said. "If [the US] can conduct reviews of Chinese companies on the grounds of national security, so can China. That's beyond reproach.''

Amid the US crackdown on Huawei, Chinese officials have repeatedly criticized what they call US officials' abuse of the national security review process to target Chinese tech companies, and they have vowed to take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. And yet, as noted above, it is unclear how China's blocking of foreign investment on the mainland - a critical cog of China's relentless directive to reverse engineer and steal every foreign technology it has access to - will benefit Beijing's aspirations to supplant the US over the next decade.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-27/major-move-china-beijing-prepares-cyberscurity-rule-retaliation-against-us

>>6603286

Great idea, indeed. moves and counter moves are over the top. I wonder though if US companies will cooperate with such oversight, or will they choose to pull out. The outcome should be interesting.

"The Most Destructive Breach In History": Hackers Use NSA Code To Grind Baltimore To A Halt

The United States is no longer supplying its enemies only with conventional weapons – that list now also includes cyberweapons. While Baltimore has been struggling with an aggressive cyber-attack over the last three weeks, previously profiled here , it has now been revealed that a key component of the malware used by cyber-criminals was actually developed just a short drive from Baltimore - at the NSA, according to the New York Times. The tool used - called EternalBlue – has been used by hackers in North Korea, Russia and China to "cut a path of destruction around the world", and resulted in billions of dollars in damages. Now, it has come full circle and is back in the US, wreaking havoc just miles from Washington. In fact, security experts say that attacks using EternalBlue have soared and cyber-criminals are honing in on vulnerable towns and cities, using it to paralyze governments. The NSA's connection to the attacks had previously not been reported and the NSA hasn’t commented about it since an unidentified group leaked the weapon online in April 2017. The NSA and the FBI still don’t know whether or not it was leaked by foreign spies or US insiders.

The leak has been referred to as “the most destructive and costly N.S.A. breach in history,” by Thomas Rid, a cybersecurity expert at Johns Hopkins University. He continued: “The government has refused to take responsibility, or even to answer the most basic questions. Congressional oversight appears to be failing. The American people deserve an answer.” An answer that we're sure they won't get. Commenting on the leak in April 2017, Edward Snowden said that the "NSA just lost control of its Top Secret arsenal of digital weapons; hackers leaked it."

Since the April 2017 leak, foreign intelligence agencies and hackers have used the software to paralyze places like hospitals, airports, rail and shipping operators, ATMs and factories. In the United States, hackers are using the software to hit local governments with outdated infrastructure and few resources to defend themselves. The software used to be one of the most useful exploits in the NSA's arsenal. Former NSA analysts spent almost a year finding a flaw in Microsoft's software and writing the code to target it. The tool was initially called "EternalBlueScreen" because it had a penchant for crashing computers. In fact, it was so valuable that the agency never even alerted Microsoft to the security flaw and instead, held onto the tool for five years before the breach in 2017 forced them to talk about it.

The May 7 Baltimore attack saw city workers' screens suddenly lock up and a message in broken English demanding $100,000 in Bitcoin ransom. And, as Baltimore has not yet paid the ransom, the city's computers remain handicapped. Without the former NSA tool, the damage wouldn’t of been as bad.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-27/most-destructive-breach-history-hackers-use-nsa-code-grind-baltimore-halt

>>6603308

I agree

This is moar projection..only from a foreign player and their media friends.

>>6603567

Indeed, DS trying to do their damage control. I believe this is the Robinhood Hack.. which is how it was described in other publications..Which got me thinking.. There are other organizations in clown states which go by the Robinhood name..wonder if there could be a connection here…

>>6603505

>>6603749

>>6603299

Notable House is out of session till 6/4