China is continuing cyberattacks against government and private sector networks aimed at obtaining intellectual property to support China’s military buildup and economic modernization, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton says.
Bolton said that as a result, the United States is going on the attack against Chinese and other foreign hackers using new authorities outlined in a recently signed presidential memorandum.
Asked if China has lessened intellectual property theft through cyberattacks, Bolton said: “No. I think this is one of the reasons why one of our priorities here was to replace PPD-20 with what we call NSPM-13, National Security Presidential Memorandum-13, which dramatically changed the oversight and approval process for offensive cyber operations.”
The Obama administration directive, Presidential Policy Directive-20, was signed in October 2012 and made public by renegade National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
The 20-page order, labeled “top-secret,” created a restrictive approval process for conducting cyberattacks, such as requiring presidential approval and obtaining foreign government approval for operations. – READ MORE