Whether it’s through $100 antivirus software or the student-safe, multimillion-dollar Air Orange X network, hackers can find creative methods to work their way into any digital property.

Corporations across the country are feeling pressure from China via illegal cyber attacks. Cybercrime has allowed the Chinese government to peer into private American corporations, and steal valuable intellectual and personal data. Recent high-profile cyber attacks have struck companies such as Twitter, Facebook, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Mandiant, a private cybercrime forensic company hired by several high-profile corporate clients, confirmed many of the most prominent and sophisticated attacks have originated from a building operated incognito by the People’s Liberation Army, a sector of the Chinese government, according to a Feb. 19 article published by The Associated Press.

Economists worry many unprotected industries could fall victim to hacks that permit information to leak into the wrong hands. In addition, vital systems like oil pipelines, water treatment facilities and power grid operators are being forced to implement stringent security protocols to protect against the threat of widespread system blackouts, according to a Feb. 19 NBC News article.

But Milton Mueller, a School of Information Studies professor and director of the Internet Governance Project, said he thinks the threats are overstated.

“I don’t think it is true that our power grid could be brought down by hackers from the outside,” he said. “The idea that foreign hackers can bring down a power grid is not really able to happen.”

Many of the nation’s most secure companies are protected by a thick perimeter of protective software, but when this is breached, the hacker has access to an entire system, according to the NBC News article.

Large investment banks trade continuously across the world on a daily basis. If a coordinated financial attack were to penetrate a multinational financial institution, the repercussions could last for years. Although deleting mass amounts of financial data could be harmful, many fear that small changes to transactions could wreak the most havoc, according to the NBC News article.

Though the FBI can handle cyber investigations, many large corporations choose to use firms like Mandiant because they promise anonymity and investigative control. In addition, if an investigation is handled in-house, it is less likely to affect investors and stock price than if it were brought to the attention of a congressional committee, according to the Associated Press article.

As the frequency of cyber attacks increases, companies like Mandiant reap the benefits. Today, the company boasts 30 percent of the Fortune 100 as clients. In addition, revenue grew 76 percent from 2011-2012, according to a Feb. 19 Daily Beast article.

Although there are retaliatory actions the United States can take against China as a matter of policy, if the hackers in Shanghai are working with the approval of the Chinese government, there is likely no way for the U.S. government to hold them accountable, said Mueller, the iSchool professor.

“They are not attacking us. We have a deal of economic interdependence,” he said. “We are certainly spying on them, but we don’t hear about that. They seem to be very focused on getting intellectual property from companies.”

Published on February 25, 2013 at 11:12 pm

Contact Jared: jmrose03@syr.edu