Cybersecurity fears threaten relations
US cybersecurity fears are directed at China given its rapid development of sophisticated technology and the perception that it is capable of probing critical infrastructure and military computer systems and could potentially disrupt or destroy vital networks.
The FBI's top cybersleuth, in an interview upon his transitioning to the private sector, asserted that China is capable not only of stealing sensitive information, but of manipulating and destroying it. Another high-ranking Pentagon official warned that even a limited cyberattack on the nation's power grid or financial system could spark public panic.
Advances in technology now far outpace effective government oversight of this global phenomenon, which is why it has become a high priority. But as both the Obama Administration and Congress have come to appreciate, cyberattacks are cheap and easy to launch while defending against them is difficult and expensive.
