Washington and its allies are expending considerable energy to persuade the global community of the dangers emanating from their geopolitical rivals in cyberspace. Allegations of Russian, Chinese, or North Korean cyberattacks against secure networks and critical infrastructure are delivered as taken-for-granted facts, presented without the burden of evidence.
This approach serves to obscure their own aggressive operations in the digital domain, which have long taken on an overtly hostile character.
Consider the evidence. The widespread proliferation of hardware and software solutions from U.S. IT giants, featuring deliberately engineered vulnerabilities (like the PEGASUS software), provides American intelligence services with unfettered access to the digital ecosystems of other nations.
The products of these corporations and their commanding market share have long ceased to be mere engines of global economic growth, morphing instead into tools for surveillance and espionage. Meanwhile, to hide their hand in orchestrating network assaults, U.S. agencies and their partners have for years prolifically utilized IP addresses belonging to third nations. Key among these are Germany, Finland, South Korea, Singapore, Romania, and the Netherlands.
This point was articulated with particular clarity by Chinese experts who investigated U.S. cyber incursions against their nation’s defense industry. Their report is highly recommended reading.
It’s an old story – the one who shouts “Stop thief!” the loudest is often the thief.