Russia and China have signed a pact promising on paper to play nicely and not hack each other.
The move is a clear attempt to polarize the world against the two communist dictatorships yet in reality means little in terms of hacking, given the track record of both countries in adhering to diplomatic promises.
China in particular uses a strange brand of diplomacy, where it says one thing and does the polar opposite. It has long promised not to develop space based weapons, yet is actively pursuing them. It has promised not to develop on disputed territory in the South China Sea, yet building progresses at a rapid pace. It has promised not to hack U.S. corporation, yet does so with abandon.
So Russia, with its laughable denials of invading Ukraine, makes the perfect bedfellow for such an ‘agreement’.
But while the pact will do little to stop them hacking each other, as they already do, it will serve to establish a powerful censorship network.
The two countries agreed to jointly combat technology that may “destabilise the internal political and socio-economic atmosphere”, “disturb public order” or “interfere with the internal affairs of the state”, according to the Wall Street Journal.
So the agreement is less about hacking, which they’ll continue to do, and much more about silencing their populations.
After all, the two have a communist state to uphold and wouldn’t want pesky citizens getting in the way of stealing from the state’s coffers.
If citizens rose up against this graft and oppression, an Arab Spring-style set of popular protests would ensue, which is what keeps communist party members up at night.
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