Recent reports the Obama administration sought to conclude an unprecedented cyber arms control agreement with China governing digital attacks are "erroneous" and there are no plans to negotiate limits on cyber weaponry.
"That was never true, and in fact I don’t think it made sense to have a ‘cyber arms control treaty,’ " said Chris Painter, the State Department’s cybersecurity coordinator, at a conference last week.
Painter’s comments were focused on a sensational New York Times report Sept. 19 asserting that urgent negotiations had been underway in the weeks leading up to President Obama’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The goal was to conclude a cyber arms agreement at the summit. The agreement reportedly would have focused on preventing cyber attacks on critical infrastructures, like power stations, banking systems, cellphone networks and hospitals.
Read the entire article at Asia Times.