Universities linked to cyber-spying – Report

A burgeoning Chinese effort to build academic and civilian expertise in computer espionage has ties to the nation's military, according to Science magazine, writes Dan Vergano for USA Today.

In the past five years, China has opened 10 university computer security academies that specialise in cyber-research, says the Science report by international editor Richard Stone. Chinese universities publish computer espionage research in the open scientific literature – including one 2009 report "outlining how to mount an effective attack on the US power grid".

Such schools have hosted hiring fairs for People's Liberation Army units, which have recently been linked by outside analysts to hundreds of hacking successes against US industries and government agencies. Stone, formerly based in Beijing, concludes: "The wellspring of China's strength is hundreds of computer and information departments across the country."
Full report on the USA Today site