Compare cybersecurity risks in the U.S. and another country.

Comparing cybersecurity risks between two countries can be difficult because they depend on a number of things, including technological infrastructure, economic size, and the level of sophistication and experience of potential cyber attackers. A comparison can be made between the United States and China.

State-sponsored cyberattacks are a problem for both China and the United States. The nature and scope of these attacks vary and can change on many factors that include recent tension between countries and historical events from the past. Russia, North Korea, and Iran are the main countries that plan out state-sponsored cyberattacks against the United States. These countries are known for focusing on defense systems, critical infrastructure, and governmental institutions. These countries try to obtain data from the United States covertly and are corrupt. On the other hand, China is known for carrying out state-sponsored attacks against American businesses. Typically they do so to those companies in the technology and defense sectors, to steal intellectual property and other sensitive information. Some examples can be universities, cybersecurity firms and tech companies.

Another example is the difference in mobile malware. China has a higher rate of mobile malware attacks than the United States. There are many third party app stores that are allowed on China’s phones and mobile devices. These third party app stores are not regulated as much and are not as secure which leads to a higher risk of malware.

A third point of comparison are cybersecurity regulations. The United States has a well-established legal framework for cybersecurity. These include laws such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015. In contrast, China’s cybersecurity regulations are more strict and allow for greater government control over internet access and data privacy. For example, China’s laws on cybersecurity requires companies in China to store data on local servers and allows the government to conduct cybersecurity inspections on any organization that operates within the country at any point they want, the government in China is more controlling and dictator like.