Chinese Cybersecurity and Defense

Cyberdefense has become, over the past five years, a major issue on the international scene. China, by the place it occupies, is the subject of attention: it is observed, criticized, and designated by many states as a major player in the global cyber-insecurity. The United States is building their cyberdefense strategy against what they call the "Chinese threat." It is therefore important to better understand today's challenges related to cyber dimension in regard of the rise of China.

Contributions from international researchers provide cross perspectives on China, its strategies and policies for cybersecurity and cyberdefense. These issues have now gained major strategic dimension:
Is Cyberspace changing the scene of international relations?
How China does apprehend cybersecurity and cyberdefense?
What are the issues, challenges?
What is the role of China in the global cyberspace?

Author Biographies xi

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 China's Internet Development and Cybersecurity - Policies and Practices 1
Xu Longdi

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Internet development in China: an overview 2

1.3 China's policies towards Internet development 5

1.4 Cyber legislation and Internet administration 9

1.5 Cybersecurity and diplomacy: an international perspective 27

1.6 A cybersecurity strategy in the making? 41

1.7 Conclusion 53

Chapter 2 PLA Views on Informationized Warfare, Information Warfare and Information Operations 55
Dean Cheng

2.1 The evolution of chinese military thinking 56

2.2 The growing importance of information 59

2.3 Information operations 64

2.4 Key types of information operations 72

2.5 Computer network warefare and information operations 79

Chapter 3 China's Adaptive Internet Management Strategy After the Emergence of Social Networks 81
Alice Ekman

3.1 Weibo: the turning point 82

3.2 Latest adjustments under Xi Jinping 89

3.3 Bibliography 99

Chapter 4 India's Cybersecurity - The Landscape 101
Cherian Samuel

4.1 A snapshot of Asian cyberspace 102

4.2 The Indian cyber landscape 114

4.3 The China challenge: a case study 117

4.4 Responses 121

4.5 Creating an institutional framework 123

4.6 Takeaways 126

Chapter 5 China and Southeast Asia: Offline Information Penetration and Suspicions of Online Hacking - Strategic Implications from a Singapore Perspective 129
Alan Chong

5.1 Offline sphere: latent "diasporic" information power and official Chinese soft power 133

5.2 The online sphere: hacktivism as mostly projections 149

5.3 Conclusion: offline politics strategically obscure online projections 152

5.4 Bibliography 153

Chapter 6 Impact of Monogolia's Choices in International Politics on Cybersecurity 157
Daniel Ventre

6.1 Mongolia's cyberspace 158

6.2 Cyberspace and political stakes 160

6.3 Information-space security policy 168

Chapter 7 China-Iran-Russia - A Cybercommunity of Information? 177
Thomas Flichy De La Neuville

7.1 The hall marks of cyber-cooperation 178

7.2 The geopolitical bases for the cyber-mongol empire 181

7.3 Order in cyberspace: an absolute necessity within China 194

Chapter 8 Discourse Regarding China: Cyberspace and Cybersecurity 199
Daniel Ventre

8.1 Identification of prevailing themes 203

8.2 The evolution of American discourse about China, cybersecurity and cyber defense 247

8.3 Conclusion 277

General Conclusion 283

List of Authors 295

Index 297

Daniel Ventre is an engineer at CNRS, a researcher with CESDIP (Centre for Sociological research on the Law and penal institutions), in charge of Télécom ParisTech and the ESSEC Business School and General Secretary of GERN. He is the author of a number of books and articles on cyberwarfare, information warfare, cyberconflict, cybersecurity and cyberdefense.