China spends massively on cyber spying, Congress told

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China is pouring massive amounts of money and resources into cyber attacks aimed at stealing business secrets, security researchers told a congressional panel on Tuesday.

Cyber attacks purported to come from China, a topic which has drawn the attention of US President Barack Obama and other top officials, are part of "an extensive effort to pilfer intellectual property," said Mr Kevin Mandia, head of the security firm Mandiant.

"It's been supported monetarily," said Mr Mandia, whose firm released a report earlier this year linking the People's Liberation Army to a long-running cyber espionage campaign.

"It would take thousands of people, thousands of systems ... the mere infrastructure alone, and the time, and duration and scope of this effort to steal our secrets has gone on for so long that there's a large amount of investment in it."