Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tweet[IWS] USCC: CHINA'S POSITION ON THE SONY ATTACK: IMPLICATONS FOR THE U.S. RESPONSE [14 January 2015]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies-----------------Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor--------------------Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC)
Staff Report
CHINA'S POSITION ON THE SONY ATTACK: IMPLICATONS FOR THE U.S. RESPONSE [14 January 2015]
by Jordan Wilson, Research Fellow, Security and Foreign Affairs
http://www.uscc.gov/Research/china%E2%80%99s-position-sony-attack-implications-us-response
or
[full-text, 7 pages]
[excerpt]
In late November 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack that
crippled its networks and stole large quantities of personal and commercial data.1 On December 19, the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) publicly identified North Korea as responsible for these crimes,
describing the attack as “destructive” and “coercive” in nature.2 President Obama pledged the United States
would respond “proportionately” and “in a place and time and manner that we choose.”
3 On January 2,2015, the United States imposed financial sanctions on North Korea’s arms industry as a “first step in
retaliation.”4,* Analysts and news media have suggested further steps could include listing North Korea as
a state sponsor of terrorism, bringing down its propaganda websites, and targeting its computer hardware,5
with a kinetic response termed “the remotest of possibilities.”6
U.S. officials reached out to China’s government following this attribution in an effort to “share
information,” “express our concerns,” and “ask for their cooperation,” as stated by one representative.7 The
United States reportedly asked specifically for assistance in a “blocking action” to eliminate North Korea’s
ability to carry out future attacks,8 as Chinese state-owned enterprise China Unicom is a crucial conduit for
nearly all of the regime’s telecommunications.9 Beijing has yet to publicly respond to the U.S. overture or
officially acknowledge North Korean involvement, stating only that China “is against all forms of cyber
attacks,” including those launched by a state “using facilities beyond its own national borders against a
third country.”10
As China has received attention as a potential factor in this attack, is in a unique position to influence North
Korea, and is a key player in the development of international norms in cyberspace, its reactions to U.S.
decisions on these matters are of particular interest.
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