A panel on “digital nationalism” in the modern world was held on Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
Under Secretary of the United States, Department of Homeland Security Robert Silvers cautioned the audience that the rising divide in digital governance between the United States and China is effectively creating “two internets.” The United States may be allowing China to transform its own internet into a really lethal weapon, panelists concluded, because of China’s supremacy in electronic manufacturing and enormous digital infrastructure.
“China, I believe, is our most significant long-term strategic rival. In some ways, I believe China’s threats are too many to enumerate. And, for starters, in the technological arena, you see a huge amount of hacking activity focused against the United States “Silvers said.
“And second,” Silvers cautioned, “I believe the Chinese government’s vision of the internet is a dark, authoritarian, dystopian vision that we must unify against and build against.” “It’s designed to capture and monitor its own citizens, and it’s completely at odds with our country’s principles, with the freedom that I believe the internet should be a tool for liberty, openness, free speech, innovation, and stepping out of the box into new areas and new ideas.”
According to the DHS source, China’s involvement in emerging nations might increase the effect of Chinese content control.
Silvers stated, “I am really very concerned about the trajectory of the Chinese version of the internet.” “I agree with the White House that our administration’s announcement on the internet’s future is a significant step forward. But now we must put that into action.
“And I believe (former Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence) Sigal (Mandelker) made an important point about how the action is in many ways in nations overseas, typically underdeveloped countries, that they simply want help and will cooperate with anyone will support them.” And we’ve made the decision to participate in that arena.”
According to Nicolas Chaillan, the former top software officer of the United States Air Force, China and Russia may already be exchanging data, and America wouldn’t have “a fighting chance” if the two countries united their cyber warfare skills.
“Not many countries would be able to counter,” Chaillan added. “I don’t think the US would be able to push back if Russia and China were to join forces against us tomorrow.”
“I believe it would be extremely difficult for us to even have a chance against a nation like Ukraine,” he continued.
However, the former Pentagon official stated that he is “far more afraid of China.” If China gave Russia superior technology, Chaillan believes it would be “game-altering.”
China, according to Chaillan, would first provide Russia with cyber-attack capabilities.
