The People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force is an arm of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
. It was established on 19 April 2024, followed by the dissolution of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF). And the Cyberspace Force received the functions of the former PLASSF's Network Systems Department.
History
The Cyberspace Force was established on 19 April 2024 following as one of the new successor branches which followed the dissolution of the
People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force
The People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force was a service branch of the People's Liberation Army that existed from December 2015 to April 2024.
With an aim to improve the army's ability to fight what China terms "informationized confli ...
(PLASSF).
The Cyberspace Force has the functions of the former PLASSF Network Systems Department.
The other new branches created were the
PLA Aerospace Force and the
PLA Information Support Force.
At the creation of the Cyberspace Force, the
Ministry of National Defense
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...
stated in relation to its role that "developing the Cyberspace Force and cyber security and defense means are important for reinforcing national cyber border defense, promptly detecting and countering network intrusions and maintaining national cyber sovereignty and information security."
The Cyberspace Force operates five Technical Reconnaissance Bases that align with the PLA's five
theater commands.
The force's Cyberspace Operations Base oversees the country's
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive (military), type of military operation
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
cyberwarfare
Cyberwarfare is the use of cyberattack, cyber attacks against an enemy State (polity), state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, ...
,
psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
, and advanced cybersecurity research.
Leadership
Commander
*
Zhang Minghua (April 2024 – present)
Political Commissar
*
Han Xiaodong (April 2024 – present)
See also
*
Cyberwarfare by China
Cyberwarfare is the strategic use of computer technology to disrupt the functions of a state or organization, specifically through the deliberate targeting of information systems for military or tactical purposes. In the People's Republic of Chin ...
References
{{People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army branches
Military units and formations established in 2024
2024 establishments in China
Theater Command deputy grade units of the Armed Forces of China