Cyber Security in China: New Political Leadership Focuses on Boosting National Security

In this issue, Hauke Gierow (Research Associate, MERICS) argues that China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has made cyber security a focal point in government work. The State Council Internet Information Office and its director, Lu Wei, have become key actors in the country's cyber-security policy.

The Chinese government's efforts at regulating internet security as uniformly and comprehensively as possible conflict with the security needs of individual internet users. Security gaps in mandatory standard software that users are forced to employ are potential systemic points of penetration for hackers and malware.