After Snowden revelations, China worries about cyberdefense, hackers

When it comes to cyberattacks, China is often seen in the West as a fierce aggressor — the ultimate hacking threat to American government and businesses. In China, however, Internet users are increasingly preoccupied with their own vulnerability. Cybersecurity, in many ways, is a more widespread problem here than in the United States, industry experts say.

Holes in China’s systems are more numerous and its public less protected. Worry about those vulnerabilities has surged in the wake of disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about US operations to hack into Chinese Internet traffic hubs and cellphone companies. The latest revelations showed that China was among the top targets of cyber operations carried out by US intelligence services in 2011. But the threat to Chinese computers comes not simply from foreign agents, technology experts say. Increasingly, officials and business leaders are also worrying about the widespread damage caused by China’s own hackers.