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American Morning

U.S. Faces Increase in Hacking From China

Aired April 27, 2001 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: In light of recent strained relations between the U.S. and China, federal officials are warning now that Web sites and e-mail servers in the United States are coming under increasing attack from Chinese hackers, raising a question: Is it orchestrated or is it spontaneous?

CNN's Jeanne Meserve in Washington, now, with a look at this growing hacker war -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stephen, the watch word is "beware." That nice picture of your corporate headquarters building on your Web page may be replaced by a picture of Wang Wei. Computer hackers from China have launched an attack on U.S. Web sites, and some American hackers say they are replying in kind.

The National Infrastructure Protection Center warns that from now through May 7, Chinese cybervandalism could reach its peak -- that's because of a number of important Chinese events in that period, including the biggest Communist holiday, May Day. One California company, Iplexmarin.com, found its home page a shrine to the missing pilot from China. The text on that and other hacked Web sites said the hackers love their motherland and are indignant over what they call U.S. imperialism. Investigators tracked the attack back to a Web site in China, CNhonker.com in Beijing. It is home base for a group called the Hackers Union of China and contains a list of 10 U.S. sites they claim to have hacked.

Ben Venzki is the CEO of Tempest publishing, specializing in national security issues and cyber threats.

Thanks a lot for joining us.

Is this a national security threat at this point?

BEN VENZKE, TEMPEST PUBLISHING: It is really -- it's a concern. It's something we want to keep an eye on and watch. It could develop into a national security issue.

MESERVE: How?

VENZKE: Well, it's the kind of thing that has an incredible potential to escalate. It could start out as a few random attacks and then, much as we saw with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you could enter into a period of four, five months where hundreds of sites are being attacked every day; and not just Web sites. It could be Internet service providers, those companies that are providing the very connectivity for the companies to operate online.

MESERVE: Do the Chinese have a particular reputation for hacking?

VENZKE: We've seen activity from China in the past; it's something we've watched. I wouldn't say they have a unique reputation, but this is not the first time we've ever seen attacks originating out of China.

MESERVE: So how does one protect one's Web site from this kind of hacking?

VENZKE: Well, one of the first things you need to do is understand the kind of attacks that are going on. Be aware that this is an increased threat period. Also take a look at what your systems are; look at where your exposure is. Make sure that your vulnerabilities are covered.

Look at the immediate things, but then also look at what your dependencies are. Look at your services that are outsource. Do those companies have vulnerabilities that could impact your ability to operate?

MESERVE: But to a certain degree, there's nothing that you can do, right?

VENZKE: Well, you can try your best; unfortunately, there's nothing that's 100 percent secure.

MESERVE: OK, great. Ben Venzke of Tempest Publishing, thanks so much for joining us.

VENZKE: Thank you.

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