US media shouldn’t join govt cyber bullying

The US media have recently been reporting that China has for the first time admitted that the massive compromise of the US government database last year was done by Chinese hackers. The conclusion was based on Chinese official news agency's report during a China-US cyber security meeting, which stated that the breach at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was criminal, not a state-sponsored cyber attack. The US media still described the Chinese government as playing a suspicious role in the OPM incident, speculating that it is easy for the Chinese government to deny any involvement. Sources told the Global Times that after receiving information from the US side in July, the Chinese authorities launched a special investigation and arrested two suspects. One of them is believed to have breached the OPM computer system. He has no government background, and he did not obtain data from the OPM system. The US side has confirmed China's investigation, according to these sources. The US media have a tendency to conclude that Chinese hackers must be behind any cyber attacks, and they believe the Chinese government must be involved. Even though the Chinese authorities have cooperated with the US side in the investigation, the US media are reluctant to change their conclusions. China is also a victim of innumerous cyber attacks. But in most cases, the government refrained from jumping to an conclusion and instead resort to private communications and quietly beefed up its security measures. But the US goes the other way. Even though Edward Snowden has revealed the extent of US cyber espionage and eavesdropping, the self-righteous US media still try to hype up the "yellow peril" in cyberspace, which is misleading. The cyber world is still in its primitive age, with anarchism prevailing. Inside China, it is debatable what can be done and what cannot be done on the Internet. The debate could be even bigger on the world stage. The US Cyber Command was established openly for cyber warfare. Who validates that? Does it mean other countries can also openly do what the US Cyber Command is doing? Where is the line drawn? The US government has not apologized for eavesdropping on foreign leaders. On the contrary, the Chinese government shows sincerity in assisting the US to deal with what it sees as a problem. China is also seriously cracking down on cyber crimes. China has arrested several suspects involved in the US government cyber breach. The US may also need to show its sincerity by arresting a few people who are engaged in cyber attacks against the Chinese government. The US media should watch that carefully.