Let the games begin...

June 2008

Olympic visitors’ data is at risk. National security agencies are warning businesses and federal officials that laptops and e-mail devices taken to the Beijing Olympics are likely to be penetrated by Chinese agents aiming to steal secrets or plant bugs to infiltrate U.S. computer networks. Chinese government and industry use electronic espionage to “easily access official and personal computers,” says one recent report by the Overseas Security Advisory Council, a federally chartered panel comprising security experts from corporations and the State, Commerce, and Treasury departments. Equipment left unsupervised for just minutes in a hotel or even during a security screening can be hacked, mined, and bugged, adds the chair of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a federal panel that monitors China-related security issues for Congress. China’s government also controls Internet service providers and wireless networks, he says, so computers and PDAs can be monitored and planted with bugs remotely, too. “There is a high likelihood — virtually 100% — that if an individual is of security, political, or business interest to Chinese … security services or high technology industries, their electronics can and will be tampered with or penetrated,” he says. China’s embassy did not respond to requests for comment, but usually dismisses espionage charges.