Example of Chinese Military Converging on US Military

We often hear of vulnerabilities in the US military introduced by net-centric warfare and a reliance on communications network. As the Chinese military modernizes, it will introduce similar vulnerabilities.

I found another example of this phenomenon courtesy of Chinascope:

PLA Used its Online Purchasing Website for its First Online Purchase

 Written by LKY and AEF   

 Xinhua reported that on, April 7, the PLA announced that five manufacturers won the bidding, totaling 90 million yuan (US$14.48 million), to supply general and maintenance equipment to the PLA. The article said that these were the first purchase orders that the PLA received since it launched its military equipment purchasing website in January. The site is at http://www.weain.mil.cn/. 

 The PLA claimed that it saved close to 12 million yuan (US$1.93 million) compared to the list price. The purchase order consisted of items such as containers for maintenance equipment and tools, gas masks, carrier cases, and army field lighting. The article said that the PLA equipment purchasing website was launched on January 4. On February 25, the PLA General and Maintenance department made a public announcement on the website calling for bids. On March 19, the public bidding was held at Ordnance Engineering College in Shijiazhuang City of Hebei Province. 

 Over 20 manufacturers submitted bids and 5 of them, including some privately owned companies, won the bidding.

 Source: Xinhua, April 12, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/info/2015-04/12/c_134143641.htm

(emphasis added)

You can imagine the sorts of opportunities this story presents to adversaries, including impersonating the Chinese Web site, phishing either party (supplier or purchaser), and so on.

I expect other militaries to introduce similar vulnerabilities as they modernize, presenting more opportunities for their adversaries.

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