14 DAY TRIAL // Germany has announced plans to open a national cyber-warfare center, outlining the increased attention governments give to such threats.
During a press conference on Monday, a spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry revealed that a new "National Cyber-Defense Center" will be created next year.
According to CBC News, it's primary purpose will be to protect the country's critical Internet infrastructure from foreign cyber attacks that have increased in number recently.
According to statistics, in 2009 the German government recorded around 900 attacks against its systems, while this year the number of such incidents reached 1,600 in the first half alone.
The government official pointed out that there are also many cases which remain unreported and said that the vast majority of these cyber attacks originate from China.
It's not clear if these are the result of direct targeting by politically motivated Chinese hackers, or if foreign attackers simply used compromised computers in the country.
However, one's thing is clear - China is viewed by the international community as a problem when it comes to cyber threats.
India, another country which plans to establish a cyber army, revealed earlier this year that many of the attacks against its infrastructure were traced back to China and Pakistan.
The United Kingdom already has a cyber defence force. Officially called the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), it is based at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.
The Cyber Security Operations Center was established in 2009 along with the new Cabinet Office of Cyber Security as part of Britain's new national security strategy.
A report leaked from the MI5 at the beginning of this year directly pointed the finger at China as a major source of cyber-espionage efforts.
The 14-page long document marked as restricted was titled "The Threat from Chinese Espionage" and advised high-ranking business executives, who frequently travel abroad, about the information extraction tactics used by Chinese agents.
The Chinese cyber-espionage threat was also outlined in an advisory report presented to the U.S. Congress last month by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.