Shadow of the Dragon - 2014 U.S.-China Cyber Warfare and the Impact of Unit 61398

Shadow of the Dragon - 2014 U.S.-China Cyber Warfare and the Impact of Unit 61398

In May 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted five officers from Unit 61398, a cyber unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. They allegedly carried out a massive hack targeting the U.S. nuclear, defense, and metals industries, stealing design information for the F-35 fighter jet, V-22 Osprey, and Black Hawk helicopter, among others. At the time, the post-Cold War international order was undergoing rapid change, and China's rise was conspicuous in both economic and military terms. Cyberspace had become a "battlefield without war," and the confrontation between the U.S. and China had entered the phase of invisible information warfare.

This Unit 61398 was reportedly based in the skyscrapers of Shanghai and operated under the umbrella of the military's communications bureau. The existence of the unit was specifically noted in a 2013 report by the U.S. cyber defense firm Mandiant, which was the first clear public recognition of state-sponsored hacking. The U.S. government has made clear its policy of treating cyberattacks as a "new invasion" that threatens the nation's economy, rather than simply an act of espionage.

Furthermore, in 2018, the unit reportedly stole more than 600 GB of data on the Sea Dragon program (Sea Dragon) from a U.S. defense contractor. This was a significant incident that shook the military balance, as it related to the Navy's development of next-generation hypersonic anti-ship missiles. During this period, China was promoting the conversion of civilian technology to military use under the banner of "military-civilian fusion," and the theft of the information was seen as part of this effort.

After the incident, the U.S. established the Office of Cyber Strategy within the National Security Council (NSC) and identified China as the greatest threat. The Obama administration protested to the Chinese government through diplomatic channels, but the Chinese side consistently denied any involvement. A new challenge emerged for the international community: how to define "borders" and "sovereignty" in cyberspace.

The 61398 incident symbolized the advent of an era in which state-sponsored cyber warfare would determine real international politics, and is recorded as a turning point of the most strategic and political significance in the "history of information security defeats.