Did the Chinese Hack into the Pentagon?

Are the Chinese Using Hacking As a First Line of Attack?

According to the AP, the Chinese government denied claims this week that they tried to hack into the Pentagon’s computer systems in June of this year. This comes amid claims by the British that China also tried to hack into Parliament this year. Germany has also had problems with spyware and hacking programs attacking their ministries.

Is this the new method of war amongst the superpowers? Will hacking into defense systems be the way to drop the protective walls of a nation?

This all comes on the heels of a Financial News report this week that the Chinese military had hacked into Defense Secretary Robert Gate’s office in June. This hacking attempt prompted the takedown of their network for one week. The amount of information stolen has not yet been disclosed.

China denied any attempts to hack our computer systems. "Some people make groundless accusations against China" that its military attacked the Pentagon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news briefing.

"China has all along been opposed to and forbids criminal activities undermining computer networks, including hacking," she said. "China is ready to strengthen cooperation with other countries, including the U.S., in countering Internet crimes."

Earlier this year, the Pentagon stated that the Chinese had been looking at hacking as an offensive weapon as early as 2005.

While the possibility that another source could be disguising their locations and using China as a scapegoat to set off these attacks, the possibility is frightening that our own technologies could be used against us in future wars.

Do you believe the Chinese army is using hackers to probe our defense systems?

Is a hacker from another nation be the true culprit trying to bait the US, England, and Germany into a war with China?

What do you think?