The Chinese government’s ongoing cyber assault on American companies and government entities is a bit of an open secret, but the extent of the alleged campaign has been little understood because victims are reluctant to admit their computer systems have been compromised.
On Thursday, NBC News published a map, obtained by the National Security Administration, that should help further the public’s understanding of the scope of the Chinese cyber invasion of U.S. public and private entities.
The map, which was prepared by the NSA in February 2014, reportedly shows more than 600 successful attempts “to steal corporate and military secrets and data about America’s critical infrastructure, particularly the electrical power and telecommunications and internet backbone.” Each dot represents and individual attack.
According to NBC News:
The prizes that China pilfered during its “intrusions” included everything from specifications for hybrid cars to formulas for pharmaceutical products to details about U.S. military and civilian air traffic control systems, according to intelligence sources.
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