Trump to freeze out China in Cyberspace Cold War
But his new strategy might have fundamentally misunderstood the threat posed by Xi’s regime
Battle lines are being drawn in the Cold War of cyberspace. Later this month, the United States will roll out a new strategy to combat the threats posed by China. The slimline policy document is reportedly just five concise pages.
Predictably, the draft opens with a bold Trumpian push for aggressive dominance, hinging on six critical pillars for American cyber power, Cyberscoop reported. They include emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence and post-quantum cryptography.
Still, the core message from the white paper revolves around a more “offensive” approach to combating state-backed cyberspying. “It’s going to be focused on shaping adversary behavior, introducing consequences into this mix,” US National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said.
Digital fears:
- Yet there are concerns about the priorities of the perceived plan before it has even been launched by President Donald Trump’s administration.
- Reports have also suggested that cyber operations would be “more a tool of statecraft” than a “defensive necessity,” the Forbes media group revealed.
Cyber operations cannot stop or even diminish Beijing’s campaigns.
Matthew Ferren, the Council on Foreign Relation
Delve deeper: But such a move has been challenged by Matthew Ferren, of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the co-author of the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy. He has warned that Trump’s plan has fundamentally misunderstood China’s threat.
Between the lines: “This combination – more offense, less defense – reflects a seductive logic: why play defense when you can take the fight to the enemy? But against China, the most active threat to US networks, this is a dangerous miscalculation,” he pointed out.
Big picture: “Cyber operations cannot stop or even diminish Beijing’s campaigns. Doubling down on offense while neglecting defense will leave the United States more vulnerable, not less,” Ferren wrote in an analysis for the Council on Foreign Relations this week.
Bottom line: “There is no third option where offense solves the problem. The forthcoming national cybersecurity strategy promises exactly that nonexistent option. It will fail – and the United States will be less secure because of it,” he said.
China Factor comment: President Xi Jinping’s regime has already raised the “cyber stakes” after the “Salt Typhoon” hack illustrated the vulnerabilities facing the US and its democratic allies. There are lessons to be learned from history.