According to a report released on 12 October by consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks pose a growing threat to US national security.

'Same Cloak, More Dagger: Decoding How the People's Republic of China (PRC) Uses Cyber Attacks' is a report aimed at CISOs of American companies and their allies, as well as threat analysts. It provides a thorough examination of more than 13 case studies of Chinese-sponsored cyberattacks over the last decade.

According to their results, China is creating and using cyberattack capabilities to further its 'core interests' at home. These cyberattacks are a supplement to China's more well-known and varied efforts to use legal, financial, cultural, political, and technical tools to further its objectives online.

Booz Allen did clarify that the report's main source of research was open source. It is likely impossible to properly determine the exact extent of China's cyberattack capabilities from open sources. It is probable that China decided not to use all of its resources or did so secretly, the study claims.