China commits a cyber attack on Microsoft Exchange server software that powers most professional organizations’ email systems and we respond differently. First, and quietly, we line up the international community to be part of the verbal response to the attack. This includes getting NATO to weigh in on the issue. Then, the president of the United States calls out China for the hacking, but does not call out the president of China by name.
There are differences between the attacks and the attackers. China in the past has concentrated more on trying to get intellectual secrets, while Russia is meddling in government systems and looking for pure intelligence. The economic connections between the nations involved are also different. Many, if not most, of the products we purchase in the United States come from or have components made in China. Russia, on the other hand, has caviar and their economy is about the size of California or Italy.
The Biden administration took a radically different approach to both nations when compared to the previous administration. First, they actually did call out Russia for hacking and addressed the issue in person in a face-to-face meeting, not accepting Putin’s assertion of “not me!” at face value.
For China, this is the first time I can recall us lining up international support to confront a foreign nation’s cyber attack. And it was great to see that Biden is drawing NATO into the mix. They have been muddled in planning for the last war, rather than thinking about a comprehensive approach to defending Europe that must include cybersecurity.
