Highlights
-China started deploying new more secure operating system to government and military computers in 2007
-Cyber-warfare and espionage against China will be more difficult for the US
-Increases in its cyber-warfare capabilities are designed to boost China’s overall military might
In hearings on April 30, 2009 US congressional members learned of a new secure operating system deployed by the Chinese government in an effort to secure its governmental and military computer networks and prepare against cyber-warfare. The new operating system known as “Kylin” has been in development since 2001, according to a private security specialist who testified before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In 2007 the Chinese government began converting its government and military computers to the new operating system, a move that experts say has weakened America’s ability to conduct cyber-espionage on China.
According to the private security specialist’s testimony, China has released statements to state-sponsored media outlets contending that the US has been actively carrying out cyber-espionage and exploitation against government computer systems. This fear has spawned a new cyber arms race between China, Russia, and the United States that the private security specialist stated is in the “early stages.”
While the US government has been launching new programs and developing new technologies to secure its computer systems, it will be difficult for the government to follow in China’s footsteps because less secure operating systems such as Microsoft Windows have a well established install base within the US government. In addition, transition costs and software industry lobbyists will likely keep the government purchasing software that often employs security as an afterthought, further debilitating the US’s strategic cyber advantage vis-à-vis China.
China Turns To Its Own Developers
The Chinese government turned to China’s University of Science and Technology for National Defense to build the new more secure operating system and a more secure microprocessor. The secure operating system project has been a priority for the Chinese government for a number of reasons. In the past, the Chinese government expressed concern for widespread use of the insecure Windows operating system, developed by the US-based Microsoft Corporation. The government was not only concerned about lack of security, but also Windows’ closed source code, which could harbor spying capabilities for the US government.
In December 2004 the Chinese government received heavy criticism for choosing Microsoft for a three-year, US$3.6m deal instead of homegrown software providers. An official from the Chinese Science and Technology Ministry called the deal a threat to national security, prompting the government to back out of the deal.
As China’s software and hardware development prowess increases, the country will continue to develop new technologies with little or no foreign help, instead turning to its own homegrown talent to achieve its objectives.
China Grows Its Cyber-Warfare Capabilities
News of the new operating system highlights a long-standing commitment by the Chinese government to develop its overall cyber-warfare strategy and capabilities.
During a 1998 annual conference on the Chinese military, a prominent Chinese military researcher stated that while the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) did not have a coherent information warfare doctrine, its capabilities in this new area were growing, but did not match the primitive sophistication of the army’s underlying strategies. The new operating system’s six-year development phase shows that the Chinese government has put significant resources into its cyber-warfare and defense programs. Developments like this caused the researcher to change his views. He now believes Chinese computer-based warfare poses a major threat to the US military.
News of the more secure operating system comes amid recent news of Chinese-based cyber-espionage attacks, which stole sensitive information on a new US military fighter jet.
China Cyber-Warfare Capabilities To Increase
The new more secure operating system is just another part of the Chinese government’s overall strategy to increase its cyber-warfare capabilities in an effort to continue to grow its military might.
In 2009, the US Department of Defense’s annual report to Congress on China’s military strength estimated its budget to be between US$105 and US$150 billion, the second highest in the world after the US. According to some estimates, Chinese military spending doubled between 1997 and 2003, and grew at an annual rate of more than 10 percent between 2003-2005.
The Chinese government will likely continue to increase its funding for research, development and training in cyber-warfare capabilities because of its critical importance to the changing landscape of warfare in the 21st century.
