Gee, this is suddenly news?

A group linked to the Chinese military has stolen massive amounts of data from over 100 different targets, most of which are based in the U.S., a security firm said in a report released Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal reports Internet security company Mandiant says in the report it traced 141 major hacking attempts to a People's Liberation Army building in Shanghai, 115 of which targeted U.S. companies or organizations.

They just figured this out now?

A nation, with near-ironclad control over data transport into and out of its borders, has "rogue" people running around directing high-power attacks on various firms and installations worldwide -- and the government is not involved?

Like hell.

I've been following this trend for more than a decade and it was blatantly obviously very, very early on that there was simply no way that the sort of resources being brought to bear in a communist nation that controls its data networks inside and out didn't have state sponsorship.

And incidentally, while you're perusing that article and thinking about it, register for a free "look at" account over at FT, which has a very long article on a US Citizen who appears to have been murdered when he discovered that he was a patsy for a Chinese corporation that has been fingered as a potential US security risk.

Incidentally, I've seen zero mainstream media coverage of the second story, and it's too long to give justice in a short article here. But this is one you ought to read, because the technology in question is something I understand fairly well and the military implications of it are significant.

Just remember folks, China is our friend -- as the nation robs us blind and compromises our national security all with Washington DC's explicit permission.