Experts Warn China’s Tech Rise Could Reshape Global Cybersecurity and Warfare
By Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta)
China has outpaced the United States in critical technology research investments, said Australian researchers in a report predicting profound impacts on global cybersecurity, surveillance and future warfare.
Researchers found a “stunning shift” over the last two decades as China has surpassed the US to become the dominant leader in critical technology research, according to a recent report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. China – which once led in just 3 of 64 technologies tracked by the institute – now dominates in 57 key areas across artificial intelligence, defense, energy, biotechnology, robotics and cyber.
China leads in quantum sensors, high-performance computing, gravitational sensors, space launches, and advanced semiconductor chip design and fabrication, according to ASPI. The US continues to lead in quantum computing, vaccines and medical countermeasures, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy, small satellites, atomic clocks, genetic engineering, and natural language processing.
Beijing “is increasing technology investment and is absolutely a growing technology contributor” on the world stage, according to Roger Grimes, data defense expert at KnowBe4. Grimes told Information Security Media Group the US “is still the clear leader when it comes to results that end up in products and services,” including AI chips, generative AI chatbots and cryptocurrency.
The report warns China is leading in all of the technologies newly classified by ASPI as high risk, including many with possible defense applications, such as radar, advanced aircraft engines, drones, satellite positioning and navigation. The US and other democratic nations across the globe “risk losing hard-won, long-term advantages in cutting-edge science and research,” according to ASPI.
India is also beginning to emerge as a hub for global research and innovation, according to ASPI, ranking in the top five countries for 45 of the 64 tracked technologies. The country beat the US as the second-ranked in two new technologies – biological manufacturing and distributed ledgers.
China could use AI to further develop its advanced cyber tools capable of bypassing US defenses while targeting critical infrastructure and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, according to Benjamin Harvey, founder of the technology firm AI Squared.
Beijing’s increasing control over key patents could also create global bottlenecks, Harvey told ISMG, “restricting US innovation by limiting access to essential technologies embedded in their intellectual property.
Experts urged the federal government to boost research funding for agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National Science Foundation, as well as expand programs such as Small Business Innovation Research grants, which help startups scale solutions for federal use. Earlier this year, DARPA awarded seven small businesses US$1 million each to develop new systems using AI as part of an effort to “redefine” AI security.
