Canada Joins U.S. Claims of Cyber Attacks and Preparations for WarOn July 19, Canada joined the Biden administration in a "coalition" to publicly accuse the Chinese government of malicious cyber activities and irresponsible state behaviour, in language just short of declaring cyber warfare. The joint announcement claims the U.S. uncovered a wide array of cyber attacks against Microsoft by hackers they said had a history of working for China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).
In connection with the allegations, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against those they claimed were the four hackers, for targeting foreign governments and entities in crucial sectors such as defence, education, health care, the maritime and aviation sectors, and for cyber theft of intellectual property for financial gain. The charges are part of the focus on cyber security by the governments which form part of the U.S. imperialist coalition and attempts by the Biden administration to define what constitutes cyber warfare. Raising the issue of crucial sectors of the economy and life, such as aviation and electrical grids, is to establish them as part of national security and to justify charges of cyber warfare. For its part, Canada is making cyber security a prominent issue in the conduct of the upcoming federal election. It is marching in lockstep with the Biden administration which is also working to establish rules for what constitute crimes and punishment, while also publicly putting in place the means to back up U.S. claims that a cyber attack was committed by China, Russia, or another country it is accusing of such things. As part of this, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) which was formed in 2018 with a budget of more than $3 billion, published a "Joint Cybersecurity Advisory." The Advisory has what the U.S. says are more than 50 "tactics, techniques and procedures" used by hackers associated with China. This year CISA has already received a funding increase of $650 million, added to what is expected to be $2.3 billion. CISA also has the authority to "hunt proactively" for threats across civilian federal networks and subpoena authority over internet service providers when the agency "detects critical vulnerabilities in national infrastructure." It will encourage the private sector to turn over more information about the cyber threats they face. CISA also serves as a top federal liaison on cyber issues for private-sector owners of what is designated by the government as critical national infrastructure. A salient problem is that cyber warfare and cyber security are not defined by the government, any more than what constitutes terrorism has ever been defined. It is also known that terrorism charges inside the country have mainly targeted those standing against wars of aggression, or those who are defending the environment and opposing racist police killings or incarcerations at the southern U.S. border. Many expect that U.S. government claims of cyber attacks will follow the same course and that Canada will follow suit, falling in line with the U.S. A major concern is the method used by President Biden and the U.S. administration to launch accusations and declare crimes and punishment without providing facts or evidence. This method is also used by the government of Canada. Everything is about "appearance," what the rulers say the attacks "look like," what China "might do" and the like. The hackers are said to have a "history of working for China," but that history is not provided. Nor is it said whether there is evidence that they are still working for China. All of this is said to be secret and therefore cannot be divulged. As the "Joint Security Advisory" shows, the method also involves providing a list of what the U.S. asserts are "tactics, techniques and procedures" that are like, or have the appearance of being, those used by Russia or China. This then is used to say the attacks are made by Russia or China. There is no direct evidence. The basis for identifying the particular "tactics" as belonging to China also remains secret. The assertions and publication of the list serve to create a norm that whenever these same "tactics, techniques and procedures" appear, they can be attributed to Russia or China. A problem the U.S. government and those appeasing the U.S. government face is that it is next to impossible to attribute specific cyber attacks to particular governments or individuals, especially on an international level. This is because the attacks can be made to look like they are being made by those countries, or coming from particular places, using the very "tactics" cited, when that is not the case. Attribution cannot be made -- a fact already established in various cases which have refuted U.S. claims and shown them to be fraudulent. The U.S. is simply asserting that attacks can
be attributed to China or Russia. For purposes
of mobilizing their military bureaucracy and for
purposes of creating public opinion, the U.S.
asserts that China or Russia are conducting
these attacks and that they should be punished.
Whatever claims are made by the U.S. about the
"tactics, techniques and procedures" used by
China or Russia or Iran or others are to be
considered valid. In this way the media,
pundits, politicians and academics are drawn
into a debate about whether Russia or China were
involved, while the list of tactics given and
the methods used are established as "the norm."
The whole process is also a means to generate
fear and antagonisms towards China and Russia so
as to prepare for war. The Pentagon regularly
states that China and Russia are "strategic
adversaries," who could target "national
strategic infrastructure." Canada also promotes
these threats of cyber warfare, as decided by
the U.S., to lay the groundwork for justifying
war. Cyber Security Scare Shows that Military
Might Fails
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The announcement
said China is responsible for the attack on
Microsoft's email software -- an attack which
infected tens of thousands of businesses,
government offices and schools in the U.S.
alone. Those joining the U.S. coalition
included, besides Canada, the European Union
(EU), Australia, Britain, Japan, New Zealand,
and the other countries comprising the U.S.-led
NATO military alliance.
Further, much
like the U.S. did with nuclear weapons, they are
trying to impose their rules as to what is and
is not cyber warfare and what the punishments
are and who has authority to impose them. For
nuclear weapons the U.S. put in place the notion
of secrecy, that information about building
nuclear weapons was a state secret and anyone
releasing such information was guilty of
espionage. They then enforced this with, for
example, criminal charges and execution of the
Rosenbergs, using this claim of espionage.
