Recently, some have speculated that a seemingly innocuous background clip in a Chinese military propaganda video in fact reveals that the Chinese government was behind many cyber attacks. Now it appears that CCTV has deleted that clip and removed it altogether. From the New York Times:
The main Chinese state television network has deleted from the Internet a video that some foreign military and Internet security analysts say implies China has engaged in hacking attacks on Web sites in the West.
The video was the July 16 episode of a program on China Central Television 7 called “Military Science and Technology.” The episode, called “The Internet Storm is Coming,” was about cyberwarfare.
Chinese officials deny repeated assertions by foreign cybersecurity experts and foreign governments that China is the source for many prominent and ambitious attacks.
The discussion among Western analysts over the July 16 episode and its significance began earlier this week, when links to screenshots of the episode circulated on the Internet. By Friday, a video of that episode had been removed from a CCTV Web site that still has other recent episodes of “Military Science and Technology.”
Chinese officials maintain that the cyberattack clip was made-up by the producer. From The Washington Post:
On Thursday, Internet users trying to find the documentary on the site of Chinese State Television would instead find the message “Error Page — This page does not exist anymore.”
China’s Defense Ministry said Thursday in an e-mail statement that the scene was the “pure action of the producer,” and that “the content and opinion of the program do not represent the policy and stance of the government.”
“China has always attached importance to Internet security, and firmly oppose to any form of Internet criminal activities,” the statement said. “Chinese military has never implemented any form of cyber attacks.”
China routinely denies responsibility for cyber attacks, as well as online espionage, despite widespread reports of such activity.
The video can still be found in Youtube.
Sources:
Slip-Up In Chinese Military Show Reveals More than Intended – China Digital Times
China State TV Deletes Video That Led to Hacking Fears – New York Times
Chinese Cyberwar Video Goes Missing – Washington Post
