McAfee says China could provoke cyber war

Santa Clara-based security software vendor McAfee Inc. has issued a report claiming that government-affiliated hackers in China are aggressively working to crack Internet security in other nations and this could eventually provoke a global cyber war. McAfee said that in 2007, there were more attacks reported on critical national infrastructure than ever before. Targets included financial markets, utilities and air traffic control machinery, and the attacks were believed to have been launched by governments or government-allied groups. “Within two decades, according to McAfee, the scuffle could erupt into a worldwide conflict involving hundreds of countries attacking one another’s online networks with sophisticated software. The Chinese government has denied the allegations, “China has also been attacked by hackers of some countries, so the Chinese government attaches great importance to and participates in the international law enforcement cooperation in this area,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a briefing.