Jamestown Foundation, 4 Feb 10: . . . Research and development in Net-based combat, including cyberespionage and counterespionage, figure prominently in the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) that is being drafted by both the central government and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

President and Commander-in-Chief Hu Jintao designated the expansion of electronic warfare capacity as a top priority of the defense and security forces in the coming decade. Preferential policies are also being extended to commercial computer and electronic enterprises for R & D in areas relating to IT security. Since the 1980s, such enterprises have been sharing resources and data with relevant units in the PLA, the para-military People’s Armed Police, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Two major considerations are behind the CCP leadership’s ultra-ambitious expansion of digital warfare capability. The first is to narrow the gap with the United States, which is seen as having a comfortable lead in the virtual battlefield of the 21st century. . . . The second motivation behind Beijing’s no-holds-barred cyber gambit is to safeguard China’s “IT sovereignty.” . . .

. . . . While matters relating to internal security and intelligence in China are shrouded in secrecy, the broad contours of Beijing’s game plan to augment electronic warfare capacity are clear. In early 2009, party-and-state authorities significantly boosted budgets for recruiting the best Chinese graduates in areas including computers, engineering, mathematics and foreign languages. Research units under the MSS and MPS frequently put advertisements in official and private websites seeking software engineers and specialists in IT security.

For instance, the First Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security, which has a staff of more than 1,200, recently launched a large-scale hiring campaign. Moreover, Chinese diplomatic missions in the United States and other countries have, over the past year, taken advantage of the recession in the West to recruit hundreds of Chinese graduates from the best computer science departments in Western universities. These IT talents are frequently offered internationally competitive salaries in addition to bright promotion prospects.

There is also evidence that agencies under public security and military intelligence are recruiting hackers as software engineers and Net-related security experts. . . . .

♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 207–An Introduction to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Intelligence and Counterintelligence Methodologies

♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 107–Chinese Cyber Trends