CybersecurityChina, U.S. to team up on cybersecurity

Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Saturday that China and the United States will join forces to start a working group on cyber-security.

Spacewarreports that   Kerry said that the United States and China agree  that something needs to be done now about cybersecurity,  a top national security concern for the United States.

Kerry’s announcement follows  several attempts for a dialogue on the topic between the two sides. Officials and business executives who attended a China-U.S. Internet Industry Forum in Beijing this week attempted to find a consensus.

“It’s important to have a dialogue on this, but it’s also important that the dialogue be a means to an end, and the end is really ending these practices,” Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Robert Hormats, who spoke at the forum, was quoted as saying.

Kerry told reporters on Saturday that cyber-security “affects the financial sector, banks, financial transactions, every aspect of nations in modern times are affected by the use of cyber networking and obviously all of us - every nation - has an interest in protecting its people, protecting its rights, protecting its infrastructure.”

China’s official news agencyXinhua, quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi telling, who tolad Kerry in their meeting that both countries should make joint efforts to safeguard cyberspace. According to Xinhua,Wang told Kerry that cyberspace should be an area where both countries can increase mutual trust and cooperation.

In the past few months, the two countries have traded barbs on the subject.  China claims that it has been the victim of large-scale cyber attacks from the United States, but has not offered any specifics.  Wang  reiterated  the Chinese government’s oft-stated position that it opposes hacking of any kind.

The United States says recent attacks have originated from China targeting U.S. government and corporate computer networks among others, stealing government and commercial data.

A report released by a U.S. computer security firm in February said a secretive Chinese military unit is behind a wave of hacking attacks against the United States.

In March, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, said both sides should  stop the war of words over cyberattacks.