Yeah, but.

Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," said a senior intelligence official. "So have the Russians."

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies (Wall Street Journal, 7 April 2009)

OK, this is straight-up scary stuff.

Occupational hazard: I have a dangerously small amount of actual knowledge about how one attempts to detect and prevent intrusions into networks and systems, but I'm around the buzzwords a lot, so I'm going to go out of my way not to use jargon in the hope that I won't accidentally mangle a term of art.

Here's what I've been able to gather about this: even though you *can* secure, e.g., a nuclear facility's core operations from the public Internet, there's MORE than enough stuff hooked up to the public Net that you'd really rather it not be there if you thought about it much.

But.

At the same time, this story sort of reminds me of the feigned outrage over the Bombay terrorists having used Blackberries and so forth to access news sites on the Internet and communicate with each other.

OF COURSE they used Blackberries. They also breathed air, drank water and ate food, as Bruce Schneier pointed out, probably a lot more elegantly - they exploited what was available in their environment, and what was available included devices that for the equivalent of a few hundred bucks up front and fifty or so a month makes you a walking, talking, e-mailing, web-surfing, highly mobile node on the Net.

Deal with it.

No, seriously. The good guys have the same tools and more money, and if we don't have better brains we're all in real trouble.

So, my thinking is -

We're in a highly interconnected world.

Bad guys are constantly finding ways to exploit this.

(Who's a "bad guy" depends largely but not entirely on where you sit. There are some objective standards of evil and there are regimes and groups that are way over those lines. They have access to the Intertubes too.)

*@&$^!, OF COURSE THEY'RE TRYING TO MAP OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.

Among other things.

Here would have been an interesting thing to read in the Wall Street Journal: How do we plan to prevent them from doing this, and more importantly what are we doing to learn about their weaknesses, which may not be, as is true in our case, their information and communications infrastructure?

Navigating Beijing

English-language maps of Beijing are not so plentiful, so comprehensible, or so reliable that the existence of a good one should go unmentioned.

[...]

This very detailed map, from MapMatrix, is a 4.6MB PDF file with the following virtues: It is zoom-able, so that as you look at a certain neighborhood the street names appear. It is pan-able, so you can see an overview of the whole city and understand relative locations. And it is search-able, which is a true godsend.

[...]

Weller Cartographic offers this and similar maps free, but gently requests a $2 - $5 contribution to underwrite its efforts. That's less than 14 - 35 RMB -- and I've paid much, much more than that for much, much worse Chinese city maps. I've chipped in and hope others will too.

James Fallows: My gift to Olympic visitors: great web-based PDF map of Beijing (August 12, 2008)

Detail from the map, below:

Returning to the global stage after its "century of humiliation"

Thomas P.M. Barnett watches the Beijing Olympics, and opines:

Returning to the global stage after its "century of humiliation" and the tortuous insanities of Mao Zedong's long rule, China naturally views the Games as its coming-out party. To that end, Beijing seeks to control every possible aspect, seeking to burnish the image of the "China model."

[...]

But the harsh costs of China's model are also inescapably put on display -- to wit, Beijing's now-legendary smog. The Communist Party wants the world to focus on medals hanging around the necks of Chinese athletes, but the Games' dominant image will undoubtedly be the pollution-filtering masks attached to many competitors' faces.

[...]

Beijing's frantic attempts to manipulate the weather for smog-clearing rain speak to a wider human hubris: that we can easily engineer our way out of the problems associated with global climate change. Again, the biggest social trade-offs are inherently political questions, not simple equations for unelected technocrats to solve one afternoon sitting around a table -- no matter how supreme their mandate seems.

Thomas P.M. Barnett (Scripps Howard News Service)- What Beijing Olympics Tells [sic] Us About Our World

P.S. Tom also really, really likes "Mad Men" - the cable series, not Ahmadinejad and Kim.

Re nao-able energy

“This is going to be the biggest festival ever in China,” said Qi Jianlan, as she finished taking photos of her husband with the stadium in the far distance. “It’s going to be even more ‘re nao’ than the New Year,” she added, using the phrase Chinese use to describe their favorite atmosphere – “warm and noisy.”

For Chinese, it's the teflon Olympics (Christian Science Monitor, 3 August 2008)

Schneier on Chinese hackers

Bruce Schneier doesn't think that the multifarious hacker attacks against Western IT infrastructure emanating from China are state-sponsored... but he also doesn't take much comfort in that:

If anything, the fact that these groups aren't being run by the Chinese government makes the problem worse. Without central political coordination, they're likely to take more risks, do more stupid things and generally ignore the political fallout of their actions.

In this regard, they're more like a non-state actor.

So while I'm perfectly happy that the U.S. government is using the threat of Chinese hacking as an impetus to get their own cybersecurity in order, and I hope they succeed, I also hope that the U.S. government recognizes that these groups are not acting under the direction of the Chinese military and doesn't treat their actions as officially approved by the Chinese government.

Schneier on Security: Chinese Cyber Attacks (14 July 2008)

US power blackouts: a hacker connection?

Computer hackers in China, including those working on behalf of the Chinese government and military, have penetrated deeply into the information systems of U.S. companies and government agencies, stolen proprietary information from American executives in advance of their business meetings in China, and, in a few cases, gained access to electric power plants in the United States, possibly triggering two recent and widespread blackouts in Florida and the Northeast, according to U.S. government officials and computer-security experts.

One prominent expert told National Journal he believes that China’s People’s Liberation Army played a role in the power outages. Tim Bennett, the former president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, a leading trade group, said that U.S. intelligence officials have told him that the PLA in 2003 gained access to a network that controlled electric power systems serving the northeastern United States. The intelligence officials said that forensic analysis had confirmed the source, Bennett said. “They said that, with confidence, it had been traced back to the PLA.” These officials believe that the intrusion may have precipitated the largest blackout in North American history, which occurred in August of that year. A 9,300-square-mile area, touching Michigan, Ohio, New York, and parts of Canada, lost power; an estimated 50 million people were affected.

Officially, the blackout was attributed to a variety of factors, none of which involved foreign intervention. Investigators blamed “overgrown trees” that came into contact with strained high-voltage lines near facilities in Ohio owned by FirstEnergy Corp. More than 100 power plants were shut down during the cascading failure. A computer virus, then in wide circulation, disrupted the communications lines that utility companies use to manage the power grid, and this exacerbated the problem. The blackout prompted President Bush to address the nation the day it happened. Power was mostly restored within 24 hours.

China's Cyber-Militia (National Journal, 31 May 2008)

NPR's China Coverage

The news coverage of the China earthquake has been heartbreaking. The scenes on television are just unreal, almost unbelievable; disaster on this scale is hard to comprehend.

But some things are still best conveyed by radio. It can be a tremendous medium for storytelling.

National Public Radio ran a story on the quake's aftermath this afternoon that, well, completely tore me up. It took me quite a while to recover from it.

Melissa Block, on the ground in China, accompanied survivors as they frantically clawed through the rubble of their collapsed apartment building, looking for their loved ones.

The story is about 12 minutes long, and is so evocative of the horror on the ground that it is, candidly, really hard to take... but it's also one of the best pieces of radio journalism I think I've ever heard.

The ordinarily stalwart Ms. Block was not keeping it together all that well at points, and I have to say I was right there with her... the hell with journalistic (or personal) detachment in a situation like this.

How to read a Communist Chinese newspaper

Every major news organization in the Western world is leading with stories of the unrest in Tibet; some of the best coverage I've personally seen has been at the BBC.

So how does the People's Daily Online (English version, obviously) run the story?

The government of Tibet Autonomous Region said Friday there had been enough evidence to prove that the recent sabotage in Lhasa was "organized, premeditated and masterminded" by the Dalai clique.

The violence, involving beating, smashing, looting and burning, has disrupted the public order and jeopardized people's lives and property, an official with the regional government said.

The trick to gleaning good information from pure propaganda is to read between the lines. Check out the article's kicker, if you want a glimpse of how damaging and pervasive the "sabotage" in Lhasa must have been:

"According to sources, the public order has basically returned normal in downtown Lhasa by press time, with electricity and telecommunication resumed in many areas. "

James Fallows, currently residing in Shanghai, has been following the story closely. He suspects that the real story in Tibet is much bigger than the Chinese-controlled media is admitting to. With the National People's Congress currently underway and the Olympics scheduled to start this summer, discussions of Tibet would be... inconvenient right now:

This is potentially big, big, very consequential news.

It would be out of character for the Chinese regime (which is relaxed about many things, but not at all about "separatism" in any form) and also contrary to fundamental Chinese doctrine for the government not to respond with very great force to whatever is happening in Lhasa. Among other things, this will certainly change the tone of international discussion about the Olympics, in which China has an enormous investment of pride and "face" and which are now less than five months away.

Again, it is too early and facts are too unclear to say much more with confidence. But as you follow the news, be aware that this is something that could matter a great deal in many ways.

(James Fallows, 14 March 2008)

Supporting tyranny for fun and profit

US lawmakers accused Yahoo of giving false information to Congress and asked that chief executive Jerry Yang appear before a committee to explain the internet search company’s role in the imprisonment of a Chinese dissident.

Tom Lantos, the Democratic chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, said a congressional probe had established that Yahoo provided “false information” to Congress during a hearing last year in which the group said it knew nothing about the nature of an investigation into an activist when it gave Chinese authorities information about his e-mail account and contents of his e-mails. Shi Tao, the activist, was arrested and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment after Yahoo divulged the identifying material.

Financial Times: Yahoo accused over Chinese dissident

Fallows: A Chinese perspective on Karl Rove

Yesterday I spoke with a Chinese-American scholar who I'm not sure at the moment I should name. (I need to check with him, since it was a chat rather than an interview.) Among other things I asked him why the Chinese leadership, skillful in so many ways, did so many other things that were pointless and self-damaging. Clumsy censorship, to take a recent example; or firing off an anti-satellite weapon early this year, which gave Japan, America, South Korea, Russia, and many other countries a whole new reason to wonder about China's military plans.

My friend's answer boiled down to: a Chinese version of the "tragedy of the commons." It was bad for the "brand image" of China when the censors were heavy-handed or annoyed the foreign media. It was bad for the central Communist leadership too. But it was good for the censors in the propaganda ministry. No censor had ever been fired for being too restrictive, so they kept on doing it. The larger interest of the country, even the narrow interests of the regime, took second place.

I thought of that when I heard of Karl Rove's departure. I suspect that historically he will be seen as a "tragedy of the commons" type. Or at least he should.

A Chinese Perspective on Karl Rove (James Fallows, Atlantic Online)

Secret sauce

Pretty sure I want one of these T-shirts.

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2007 Hover Wingle

PALAZZOLO SULL’OGLIO, Italy — They have names like the Brilliance BS6, the Landwind Fashion or the improbable Hover Wingle, and though these sedans, vans and sport utility vehicles are hardly as familiar to Europeans as, say, a Volkswagen Golf, they are beginning to show up on European roads.

“I’ve got air-conditioning, ABS brakes and air bags,” said Carlo Scalvini, describing his Hover, a big and boxy sport utility vehicle built by the Great Wall Motor Company, with headquarters in Baoding in eastern China. “And the price is competitive: you pay 10,000 euros less in the end,” more than $13,000.

The enthusiasm of people like Mr. Scalvini could influence the global auto industry and China’s place in it. China’s quiet inroads into Europe are the first test of rich markets by Chinese automakers as they build dealer networks and deliver small shipments of cars to test the reaction of drivers and auto industry experts.

Low-Cost Chinese Cars Making Restrained Entry to European Market (New York Times, 13 July 2007)

On a Wingle and a prayer

Related:

Great Wall Motor Company Limited (Baoding, China)... where, in addition to the Wingle, you can learn about other models called (I am not making this up) the Safe, the Sing, the Pegasus, the Deer, the Sailor and the Socool.

China is making huge strides in economic development, but it's clear that sixty years of Communist rule have stunted their vital, strategic branding skills:

The first high-pressure common rail & high-end diesel pickup in China. Creation embodies charm, technology fulfills leadership. As China's first high-end diesel pickup, Great Wall-Wingle creates a new realm of high-grade Pick-up, and goes forward towards the world as the Chinese Pickup leader. Fashion in every detail demonstrates innovative design concepts, creative design and avant-garde daring style, without any meaningless decoration. Brilliant achievements in their careers enjoy life passion.

Yeah!

Fallows on China

Someday China may matter internationally mainly for the nature of its political system or for its strategic ambitions. Those are significant even now, of course, but China’s success in manufacturing is what has determined its place in the world. Most of what has been good about China over the past generation has come directly or indirectly from its factories. The country has public money with which to build roads, houses, and schools—especially roads. The vast population in the countryside has what their forebears acutely lacked, and peasants elsewhere today still do: a chance at paying jobs, which means a chance to escape rural poverty. Americans complain about cheap junk pouring out of Chinese mills, but they rely on China for a lot that is not junk, and whose cheap price is important to American industrial and domestic life. Modern consumer culture rests on the assumption that the nicest, most advanced goods—computers, audio systems, wall-sized TVs—will get cheaper year by year. Moore’s Law, which in one version says that the price of computing power will be cut in half every 18 months or so, is part of the reason, but China’s factories are a big part too.

[...]

Large-scale shifts in economic power have effects beyond the purely economic. Americans need not be hostile toward China’s rise, but they should be wary about its eventual effects. The United States is the only nation with the scale and power to try to set the terms of its interaction with China rather than just succumb. So starting now, Americans need to consider the economic, environmental, political, and social goals they care about defending as Chinese influence grows.

China Makes, The World Takes - James Fallows, The Atlantic, July/August 2007

Banned in Beijing

enrevanche is evidently blocked by the Great Firewall of China:

Couldn't be happier about that. I must be doing something right.

Neptunus Lex has a few useful thoughts.

Hat tip: Chap

WaPo: Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case

A human rights group sued Yahoo on Wednesday, accusing the Internet giant of abetting the torture of pro-democracy writers by releasing data that allowed China's government to identify them.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, says the company was complicit in the arrests of 57-year-old Wang Xiaoning and other Chinese Internet activists. The suit is the latest development in a campaign by advocacy groups to spotlight the conduct of U.S. companies in China.

As they seek a slice of the booming Chinese market, Yahoo and other American companies have sometimes set aside core American values, such as free speech, to comply with the communist government's laws.

Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case - Washington Post (April 18, 2007)

The suit alleges that Yahoo helped the pack of thugs and criminals who pass for China's government identify internal dissident writers, so that they could be arrested, jailed and tortured. (China has always had a very... aggressive version of the Patriot Act in place, and past a certain level, one condition of doing business there and gaining access to the lucrative Chinese market has been a demonstrated willingness to be a collaborator.)

I know very little about the World Organization for Human Rights USA, the group that is helping Mr. Wang and his family file the lawsuit. I intend to do some due diligence, though; in this case, at least, they are on the side of the angels, and that suggests that they are potentially deserving of our help and support.

Thanks, China.

BEIJING (AP) -- North Korea agreed Tuesday after arduous talks to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program, just four months after the communist state shocked the world by testing a nuclear bomb.

The deal marks the first concrete plan for disarmament in more than three years of six-nation negotiations, and could potentially herald a new era of cooperation in the region with the North's longtime foes -- the United States and Japan -- also agreeing to discuss normalizing relations with Pyongyang.

Under the deal, the North will receive initial aid equal to 50,000 tons heavy fuel oil within 60 days for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon, north of the capital, to be confirmed by international inspectors.

For irreversibly disabling the reactor and declaring all nuclear programs, the North will eventually receive another 950,000 tons in aid.

The agreement was read to all delegates in a conference room at a Chinese state guesthouse and Chinese envoy Wu Dawei asked if there were any objections. When none were made, the officials all stood and applauded.

North Korea Agrees to Wind Down Nuclear Program (AP News via The New York Times)