PLA's internet army has attacked Japan, say media
Deng Hai-ying and Staff Reporter
2014-08-23
PLA soldiers using computers in an undated photo. (Internet photo)
Japanese media suspect the People's Liberation Army has set up a base of "internet warriors" in Qingdao to interfere with Japanese government networks, our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily reported on Aug. 23.
Japan's Nikkan-Spa news website reported on Aug. 21 that the PLA deploys at least 10,000 internet specialists as well as directing an "internet militia" of 8 million and has hundreds of staff members specializing in IT and specific foreign languages. One squad of the internet army, based in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province and said to be codenamed 61419, reportedly carries out cyber attacks on Japan.
Since 2009, the computer and internet systems at over 30 major facilities in Japan, including the central government and departments related to national defense, have experienced cyber attacks via email viruses and forced connections to Chinese servers and web pages. This interference is suspected to have originated from the 61419 squad, the report says.
