Chinese spies and the security of America’s networks

“Americans, your calls and texts can be monitored by Chinese spies,” a Washington Post opinion piece recently headlined. China has “growing cyber-sophistication and relentless ambition to undermine U.S. infrastructure” another Post article reported. Some analyses trace the recent exploitation to a telecommunications network backdoor created early in the era of digital networks to allow for court-authorized wiretaps. When the digital wiretap law was passed in 1994, no one foresaw the kind of sophisticated intrusions apparently developed by the Chinese. It is an experience that we must remember as the design of digital network technology continues to evolve. The current cyberattacks are a clarion call that network security must be both a forethought in network design and an ongoing regulatory responsibility for the agency entrusted with oversight of the nation’s networks.