I believe that Chinese hackers are the scariest thing in the world today. I think that the threat from cyber warfare might be slightly overblown (though the next pearl harbor will most likely be a cyber attack). The real threat is the fact that no digital information can be kept secret anymore. If Chinese hackers want what's on a given hard disk, there's no way to stop them.
People absolutely freak out when they suspect the US government of spying on a citizen. But chinese hackers, state sponsored or not, seem to be able to roam with impunity. Several US companies have had their ip stolen and their businesses ruined. Companies have lost as much as a billion dollars in ip in a single night. [1] There are so many of them with such diversity of skills that almost no one is safe.
I'm not trying to rattle sabers here, just pointing out that the world is facing a threat to privacy and secrecy that is greater than we have ever known. Chinese hackers have more power than the CIA, KGB and Gestapo combined, and nothing short of WWIII can slow them down.
People absolutely freak out when they suspect the US government of spying on a citizen. But chinese hackers, state sponsored or not, seem to be able to roam with impunity. Several US companies have had their ip stolen and their businesses ruined. Companies have lost as much as a billion dollars in ip in a single night. [1] There are so many of them with such diversity of skills that almost no one is safe.
I'm not trying to rattle sabers here, just pointing out that the world is facing a threat to privacy and secrecy that is greater than we have ever known. Chinese hackers have more power than the CIA, KGB and Gestapo combined, and nothing short of WWIII can slow them down.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/opinion/how-china-steals-o...