Incident Response, TDR

Republican hopefuls Trump and Christie come out swinging on U.S. cybersecurity

While the federal budget, tax rates and foreign policy are guaranteed presidential campaign platforms, the upcoming 2016 election is now bringing cybersecurity policy into the mix.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie bashed former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and President Obama on Tuesday, for instance, during a Republican debate. When questioned about China's spying on U.S. citizens, stealing of intellectual property and general cyber aggression, Christie vowed to retaliate.

“If the Chinese commit cyber warfare against us, they're going to see cyber warfare like they've never seen before,” he said, after stating his information was compromised in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breaches.

He then said Obama's done nothing in retaliation, and if he were president, Christie would open China's closed media and show citizens how the government is “spending their money.”

Earlier in the day, Republican hopeful Donald Trump released a policy paper on the U.S.-China trade relationship.

“China's cyber lawlessness threatens our prosperity, privacy and national security,” the paper states. “We will enforce stronger protections against Chinese hackers and counterfeit goods and our responses to Chinese theft will be swift, robust, and unequivocal.”

Trump also says he'll adapt a “zero tolerance policy” on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer.

“If China wants to trade with America, they must agree to stop stealing and to play by the rules,” the paper said.

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