Cyber Dragon: Inside China's Information Warfare and Cyber Operations

by Dean Cheng

Overview

This book provides a framework for assessing China's extensive cyber espionage efforts and multi-decade modernization of its military, not only identifying the "what" but also addressing the "why" behind China's focus on establishing information dominance as a key component of its military efforts.

China combines financial firepower—currently the world's second largest economy—with a clear intent of fielding a modern military capable of competing not only in the physical environments of land, sea, air, and outer space, but especially in the electromagnetic and cyber domains. This book makes extensive use of Chinese-language sources to provide policy-relevant insight into how the Chinese view the evolving relationship between information and future warfare as well as issues such as computer network warfare and electronic warfare.

Written by an expert on Chinese military and security developments, this work taps materials the Chinese military uses to educate its own officers to explain the bigger-picture thinking that motivates Chinese cyber warfare. Readers will be able to place the key role of Chinese cyber operations in the overall context of how the Chinese military thinks future wars will be fought and grasp how Chinese computer network operations, including various hacking incidents, are part of a larger, different approach to warfare. The book's explanations of how the Chinese view information's growing role in warfare will benefit U.S. policymakers, while students in cyber security and Chinese studies will better understand how cyber and information threats work and the seriousness of the threat posed by China specifically.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440835643
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/14/2016
Series:	The Changing Face of War
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	873,117
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Dean Cheng is senior research fellow for Chinese political and security affairs in the Asia Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: China's Evolving Views of Information 1

Chapter 2 China's Military: This Is Not Your Father's PLA 18

Chapter 3 Informationized Conflict: Maintaining Party Control amid the Information Revolution 37

Chapter 4 Information Warfare: Waging Information Campaigns in the Next War 79

Chapter 5 Information Operations: Putting Theory into Practice 116

Chapter 6 Space and Information Warfare: A Key Battleground for Information Dominance 155

Chapter 7 Organizing to Secure Information Dominance 177

Chapter 8 Chinese Views of Future Warfare and Implications for the United States 200

Notes 223

Bibliography 255

Index 281