Words Mightier Than Hacks: Narratives of Cyberwar in the United States and China

Asian Perspective 39 (2015), 541-553 COMMENTARY Words Mightier Than Hacks: Narratives of Cyberwar in the United States and China Cuihong Cai and Diego Dati In recent years cyberwar has been a regular topic in both official and unofficial commentaries in China and the United States. As there is not yet a universally accepted definition of cyberwar, use of the term has become very broad and sometimes confusing in both countries. Charges of crime and espionage have been raised to the level of war, amplifying existing conflicts among countries, in particular between the United States and China. Nar­ ratives of cyberwar have also provided justification for policies supporting the development of offensive capabilities in cyber­ space and the implementation of intrusive surveillance systems. Such narratives, combined with several incidents between the United States and China, have led the two governments to under­ take protectionist measures to reduce possible vulnerabilities in cyberspace, creating repercussions for both countries’ economies and societies. Our commentary aims at raising awareness about the differ­ ences and similarities between US and Chinese narratives of cyberwar and explaining some of the reasons underlying them. We might be able to shed light on how the two countries understand these issues and suggest ways to improve mutual understanding. Media, experts, and government officials are among the most influential contributors to the proliferation of cyberwar narratives. Although the narratives produced by media and experts in the United States and China are slightly different in their tone, emphasis, and content, they are very similar in some respects, especially their tendency to excessively broaden the definition of cyberwar. US and Chinese government narratives, on the other hand, tend to differ in their terminology, priorities, 541 542 Words Mightier Than Hacks and identification with the unofficial narratives produced by the media and experts. Narratives of Cyberwar Produced by the Media In both China and the United States, media often use narratives of cyberwar to warn of a foreign threat. Cyberwar has been making the headlines during the last several years not only for events related to armed conflicts but also for malicious cyber activities such as theft of intellectual property rights, the operations of the hacker group Anonymous, Internet censorship, and espionage. In both countries these narratives have been exploited in the same way, but the threats highlighted are different. Generally, media produce three kinds of narratives about cyberwar. The first kind stresses the threat of foreign actors. In the US narrative these are Russia, China, and a few others, while in China it has recently become the United States. The second kind of narrative focuses on cyberweapons such as Stuxnet1 that act as proof of the existence of new and terrible cyberthreats endangering the regular functioning ofboth civil and military sys­ tems. These first two narratives are often combined with stories concerning cyber espionage and cyber crime to create a height­ ened sense of danger, encompassing a wide array of cybersecurity issues. The third narrative, which is probably the least popular and is most common in the West, claims that cyberwar has not happened yet and that it still does not represent as much of a threat as many believe. Narratives stressing the threat of cyberattacks by foreign actors were first produced by the US media and were responsi­ ble for popularizing cyberwar narratives more broadly. Russian hackers were the source, causing a disturbance in Estonia and later supporting Russian government military operations in Georgia. US media pointed to Russia as being the first cyberthreat to US national security, but since then China has increasingly been depicted as the main threat because of alleged cyber operations conducted against US industries and military suppliers. Cuihong Cai and Diego Dati 543 In China the same kind of narrative exists, but the threat is said to come primarily from the United States because of its advanced military capabilities in cyberspace and also because of the National Security Agency operations against Chinese net­ works revealed by Edward Snowden. Nevertheless, until now Chinese media have been mainly using reports produced in the West instead of investing their own resources to prove their point and argue against the choices of the US government. China still relies on foreign research...