Capability of the People's Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation

TLDR: In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive open source assessment of China's capability to conduct computer network operations (CNO) both during peacetime and periods of conflict by examining the PLA's strategy for computer network operation at the campaign and strategic level to understand how China integrates this capability into overall planning efforts and operationalizing it among its field units.

Abstract: : This paper presents a comprehensive open source assessment of China's capability to conduct computer network operations (CNO) both during peacetime and periods of conflict. The result will hopefully serve as useful reference to policymakers, China specialists, and information operations professionals. The research for this project encompassed five broad categories to show how the People's Republic of China (PRC) is pursuing computer network operations (CNO) and the extent to which it is being implemented by examining: a) The PLA's strategy for computer network operations at the campaign and strategic level to understand how China is integrating this capability into overall planning efforts and operationalizing it among its field units; b) Who are the principal institutional and individual "actors" in Chinese CNO and what linkages may exist between the civilian and military operators; c) Possible targets of Chinese CNO against the US during a conflict to understand how the PLA might attempt to seize information control over the US or similar technologically advanced military during a conflict; d) The characteristics of ongoing network exploitation activities targeting the US Government and private sector that are frequently attributed to China; e) A timeline of alleged Chinese intrusions into US government and industry networks to provide broader context for these activities. The basis for this work was a close review of authoritative open source PLA writings, interviews with Western PLA and information warfare analysts, reviews of Western scholarship on these subjects, and forensic analysis of intrusions into US networks assessed to have Chinese origins. The research draws heavily from journals and articles published by the Chinese National Defense University and the Academy of Military Sciences, the military's highest authority for issues of doctrine, strategy, and force modernization.