That’s the latest estimate from the US, according to this article. A couple interesting observations
1) the NSA fully tracks China’s hacking and reverse engineers the exploits
2) More importantly, there is the view that China has upset the norm in the amount of hacking it conducts.
One US official dubs China the Curtis LeMay of the post-Cold War era.
“It is not abiding the rules of state craft anymore, and it has to change.”
The take-away is that US industry and government are going to be driven further into each others arms – as Eric Schmidt forecasts, because of this extraordinary situation.
“Through the cumulative effects of Chinese economic warfare…has changed the secrecy calculus.”
But this extraordinary situation, becoming the new normal, assures a big place at the table for oversight about the nature of data sharing in general. Cue the EFF with the hope that they understand what has shifted between China and the world.
As for China, it can expect a less porous target. Also, as more Americans in the private sector, in the course of their work, are forced to think about outwitting China’s hackers, expect feelings toward China to sour.

A word about the famed Cold Warrior LeMay, whose answer to many Cold War challenges was to strike first and use overwhelming force. LeMay was the inspiration for Gen Buck Turgidson, played by George C Scott in Dr Strangelove, whose image is used on this blog. So there’s some thematic symmetry here.