An investigation released by a Maryland-based cyber security
firm showed that China-based hackers stole plans for Israel's Iron Dome missile
defense system and other plans related to other missile interceptor in 2011 and
2012. The investigation was reported by independent journalist Brian Krebs.
According to Krebs, the hackers
got an access to the systems of three Israeli companies working on missile
defense. Maryland-based Cyber Engineering Services had some evidences that
about 700 documents were stolen in the breach, although it's probably the
actual number is higher.
Krebs informed the press
that some of these documents bore "markings representing that their
access and sharing is controlled by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) — U.S.
State Department controls that regulate the defense industry."
During February 2013, The
New York Times reported that the breach is reminiscent of
the repeated state-sponsored Chinese cyber-attacks — a continued effort
against American government targets that resulted in the federal indictment of five members of the People's
Liberation Army this past May.
Jon Lindsay, a research
scientist at the University of California’s Global Institure on Conflict and
Cooperatione explained to Business Insider that
the Chinese style of intelligence is more like a vacuum cleaner than a
closely-directed telescope. He added that Chinese go after a lot of different
kinds of targets.
But this breach could also particularly
show the Chinese interest in granular and difficult-to-master military skills. Israel,
however, has a highly developed local arms industry that seems to have mastered
a difficult niche capability. Despite China’s improving relations with Israel,
Iron Dome's apparent success after Israel's 2012 struggle with Hamas, it must
have seemed like a tempting target to the Chinese.
Still, Lindsay notes that
Chinese hacking isn't always an image of what the country's leadership wants.
Furthermore, China still enjoys close economic connections with the U.S. even
in spite of state-sanctioned Chinese cyber-attacks on American objectives.
