US-China Cyber War
China's influential state broadcaster reported that a location-tracking feature of Apple's iPhone is a “national security concern,” which contributes to friction in cyber security between the U.S. and China.
On July 11 (local time), state-run China Central Television quoted Ma Ding, director of the Institute for Security of the Internet at People's Public Security University, who said that the “frequent locations” function in Apple's iOS 7 mobile operating system may help get access to information about China's economic situation or “even state secrets,” calling it a “national security concern.”
This function provides information about the areas that a user visits most often. Ma remarked, “This function could be used to gather extremely sensitive data,” adding that it is possible for Apple to identify the location or whereabouts of politicians or journalists.
Related to this issue, the Wall Street Journal reported, “It signals retaliation of the Chinese government against the U.S. government for U.S. allegations of government-led Chinese cyber-espionage.” In a statement titled “Your Location Privacy” published on Apple’s China website, Apple said that it “does not track users or share their locations with outsiders, and we have no intention to do so in the future,” adding, “We have never cooperated with any government agencies to steal customers' personal information.”
On July 11, the Justice Department charged three Chinese citizens with stealing information from U.S. defense contractors. It was revealed that a Chinese businessman employed two Chinese hackers and tried to sell information about key American technology gathered between 2009 and 2013 to state-run enterprises in China. The three people reportedly targeted sensitive information about Boeing's C-17 military transport plane and the F-22 and F-35, two of the Pentagon's most advanced fighter jets.
In March, Chinese hackers infiltrated databases in the Office of Personnel Management, which manages the federal workforce, according to the New York Times. Secretary of State John F. Kerry raised this issue in the sixth round of the United States-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in July 10.
With tension between the U.S. and China for cyber-espionage increasing, there is growing concern about its adverse effect on economic exchanges between the two countries. In particular, there are already signs of damaged economic relationships, as shown by the fact that it is increasingly difficult for American IT companies to do business in China.