Who Else But They?

If it's still in the realm of assumption rather than fact, it's a more than reasonable assumption. That it is from within China that cyberspies have been busily engaged in computer espionage, infecting and affecting computer systems around the world. Researchers from the Munk Centre for International Studies, located in Toronto, have been busy investigating claims of electronic spying; a covert infiltration of computers to discern data, to corrupt information for obviously nefarious purposes.

No fewer than one hundred and three countries' information systems have been breached by the spy system that the Munk Centre investigators have named GhostNet. Embassies, foreign ministries, government offices - and, significantly, the Dalai Lama's Tibetan exile centres in India, Brussels, London and New York count among the 1,295 computers identified as having been infiltrated through computer espionage.

"We're a bit more careful about it, knowing the nuance of what happens in the subterranean realms", countered a member of the Munk group, in concluding that their research points unerringly to computers based within China as being responsible for the intrusions - without naming the Chinese government itself. "This could well be the CIA or the Russians. It's a murky realm that we're lifting the lid on." Yes, isn't it?

Without a doubt the espionage emanates from either Russia or the United States. China is categorical about the impossibility of any involvement: "The Chinese government is opposed to and strictly forbids any cybercrime." Which certainly represents a huge relief, and a bloody good thing to know. So we can scratch China, and look toward Russia and the U.S. and wonder why they're so interested in the Dalai Lama, right?

Since it was a request that came directly from the office of the Dalai Lama that set the University of Toronto-based Munk Centre to work on detecting from whence the malicious software infecting the Dalai Lama's computer system emanated. And since they managed to discover "Big Brother-style" capabilities, permitting the system to turn on cameras and audio-recording functions of infected computers for in-room monitoring, that's quite the conundrum.

Oh yes, computers at the Indian Embassy in Washington too were infiltrated, and guess what? a NATO computer monitored as well. Must be Russia. No. Could be the Americans. Oh, dammit, all right; the Chinese for sure. Just don't suggest it to them. The resulting volcanic eruption of indignation would blow the lid off further informed suggestion.