4 ms·

This is part of an ongoing cyberwar between great powers - the largest adversaries to the US being China (mostly smash and grab) and Russia (primarily sophistic

by themeek 11y ago

This is part of an ongoing cyberwar between great powers - the largest adversaries to the US being China (mostly smash and grab) and Russia (primarily sophisticated and surgical). It would be nice if there was some place where we could see the scoreboard to know how effective and how often we hack the Chinese back. Right now it looks like our tax dollars are being spent getting hacked, but the US government has doubled down many times on offensive cyberwar capabilities and now have professional cybersoldier career tracks in the DoD. What's the assessment?

goodcanadian 11y ago
Actually, this is an interesting question. The U.S. may well be hacking China left, right, and centre. There is nothing forcing China to disclose when they are hacked. There might be political advantage in loudly complaining. On the other hand, they might find it better not to admit weakness, especially to their own people.
- themeek 11y ago
  The US undoubtedly hacks China, though there's some forms of asymmetry whereby the US has more to lose. There's also a language and media bubble that filters out information and criticisms of the United States. These bi- and multi-lateral criticisms happen all the time but rarely are subject of US media reporting.
  - goodcanadian 11y ago
    Fair point, but you are assuming I rely on U.S. media reporting. I most certainly do not; in fact, I pay little attention to U.S. media reporting. I do rely on English language reporting, however.
    - themeek 11y ago
      :) Thanks good Canadian. Yes, I am speaking primary to a US audience and from my own experience as a US citizen. As a tangent - how is Canadian reporting overall? Is it reliable?
      - goodcanadian 11y ago
        Well, I haven't lived in Canada for a few years . . . I find Canadian reporting to be somewhat better than the U.S., but not nearly as good as some of the international sources like the BBC and Al Jazeera.
        Sideloader 11y ago
        I disagree. Three or four corporations own almost the entire Canadian media, from traditional print publications to television and Internet. The range of viewpoints on offer is extremely limited. For example, the two daily newspapers in Vancouver are owned by the same company. The two (or is it three?) private "over the air" TV networks are run by the same companies that own the two national daily newspapers. This type of media concentration would be illegal in the US. The Canadian media is incestuous and prone to nepotism and corruption. The CBC network took government money to produce a series run on their flagship nightly newscast that sent their chief correspondent (who was also a Bilderberg guest) on a tour of the Northwest Passage aboard a Coast Guard ice breaker. This coincided with the government's ramping up PR about a "strong northern presence to assert Canadian sovereignty". A CBC business corespondent was on the payroll of a national financial institution, and married to a high-level employee of said bank)when she did an "independent analysis" of this institution which just happened to show them in a very positive light. And Canada is the only Anglophone nation without a tradition of media criticism. So, no, Canadian journalism is not in any way superior to US reporting. Quite the opposite in fact. Canadaland, a weekly podcast started by a dude who has worked for a variety of Canadian media outlets directly confronts the sick and feeble nature of Canada's media landscape.
        themeek 11y ago
        Thanks sideloader. Pretty damning anecdote about reporting on the arctic. Press coverage that happily glosses over international uncertainty and debate in favor of a national narrative and interests conclusively outs coverage for what it is. Media concentration is extremely high inside the United States as well, and of course reporting is similarly colored.
dmix 11y ago
"U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy-agencies-mounted-231-offensive-cyber-operations-in-2011-documents-show/2013/08/30/d090a6ae-119e-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy... I'd imagine it gets higher each year.

by themeek 11y ago

goodcanadian 11y ago

Actually, this is an interesting question. The U.S. may well be hacking China left, right, and centre. There is nothing forcing China to disclose when they are hacked. There might be political advantage in loudly complaining. On the other hand, they might find it better not to admit weakness, especially to their own people.

themeek 11y ago
The US undoubtedly hacks China, though there's some forms of asymmetry whereby the US has more to lose. There's also a language and media bubble that filters out information and criticisms of the United States. These bi- and multi-lateral criticisms happen all the time but rarely are subject of US media reporting.
- goodcanadian 11y ago
  Fair point, but you are assuming I rely on U.S. media reporting. I most certainly do not; in fact, I pay little attention to U.S. media reporting. I do rely on English language reporting, however.
  - themeek 11y ago
    :) Thanks good Canadian. Yes, I am speaking primary to a US audience and from my own experience as a US citizen. As a tangent - how is Canadian reporting overall? Is it reliable?
    - goodcanadian 11y ago
      Well, I haven't lived in Canada for a few years . . . I find Canadian reporting to be somewhat better than the U.S., but not nearly as good as some of the international sources like the BBC and Al Jazeera.
      - Sideloader 11y ago
        I disagree. Three or four corporations own almost the entire Canadian media, from traditional print publications to television and Internet. The range of viewpoints on offer is extremely limited. For example, the two daily newspapers in Vancouver are owned by the same company. The two (or is it three?) private "over the air" TV networks are run by the same companies that own the two national daily newspapers. This type of media concentration would be illegal in the US. The Canadian media is incestuous and prone to nepotism and corruption. The CBC network took government money to produce a series run on their flagship nightly newscast that sent their chief correspondent (who was also a Bilderberg guest) on a tour of the Northwest Passage aboard a Coast Guard ice breaker. This coincided with the government's ramping up PR about a "strong northern presence to assert Canadian sovereignty". A CBC business corespondent was on the payroll of a national financial institution, and married to a high-level employee of said bank)when she did an "independent analysis" of this institution which just happened to show them in a very positive light. And Canada is the only Anglophone nation without a tradition of media criticism. So, no, Canadian journalism is not in any way superior to US reporting. Quite the opposite in fact. Canadaland, a weekly podcast started by a dude who has worked for a variety of Canadian media outlets directly confronts the sick and feeble nature of Canada's media landscape.
        themeek 11y ago
        Thanks sideloader. Pretty damning anecdote about reporting on the arctic. Press coverage that happily glosses over international uncertainty and debate in favor of a national narrative and interests conclusively outs coverage for what it is. Media concentration is extremely high inside the United States as well, and of course reporting is similarly colored.

dmix 11y ago

"U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show" http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy-agencies-mounted-231-offensive-cyber-operations-in-2011-documents-show/2013/08/30/d090a6ae-119e-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy... I'd imagine it gets higher each year.