US directly blames China's military for cyberattacks

The Obama administration on Monday explicitly accused China's military of mounting attacks on US government computer systems and defence contractors, saying one motive could be to map "military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis."

The Obama administration on Monday explicitly accused China's military of mounting attacks on US government computer systems and defence contractors, saying one motive could be to map "military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis."

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While some estimates have more than 90% of cyberespionage in the US originating in China, the accusations relayed in the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on Chinese military capabilities were remarkable in their directness. Until now the administration avoided directly accusing both the Chinese government and the People's Liberation Army of using cyberweapons against the US in a deliberate, government-developed strategy to steal intellectual property and gain strategic advantage.