Chinese hackers love the Milw0rm portal, so I follow it every now and then.  Found out today that the site has been closed down by the owner Str0ke:

Str0ke does not explain whether this is simply due to a lack of time, to an increasing number of exploits or perhaps to both. It also remains unclear whether the page and its current database will remain available or whether it will soon be taken off line. It is possible that other members of the community will come forward to support str0ke or offer to take over the portal’s operation.

Originally, milw0rm was a worldwide group of hackers whose members communicated via IRC. The group became known internationally after it hacked into the Indian Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in June 1998 and downloaded emails and classified documents about nuclear tests. The members’ true identities reportedly still remain unknown to the investigating authorities. Speculations that milw0rm was closed due to pressure from the FBI have so far not been substantiated.

A survey by Huanqiu.com shows that the majority of Chinese netizens support China’s establishment of a cyber command.

As of 8 am on June 28, the survey by Huanqiu.com entitled “Do you think China should establish a cyber command?” which was launched on June 25 had attracted over 4,000 votes. Over 94 percent of netizens (3,823 votes) were in favor of the idea while less than 6 percent (240 votes) were against it.

As I recall, the attacks coincide with the launch of a number of North Korean short-range missiles.  I haven’t looked into this, so just a guess but my money would be on the North Koreans.  Rather risky for China to be involved in cyber attacks on both South Korea and the US while the North is busy launching missiles all over the place.

National pride was hurt by the latest hacker attacks that disabled 25 Web sites, including 11 domestic ones, Tuesday and Wednesday. The so-called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks prompted the telecommunication regulator, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), to issue a cyber security warning. The presidential office, the National Assembly, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and other government agencies were caught off guard by the attacks. Web sites for Shinhan Bank, Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) and the daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo were also briefly shut down.

What’s more surprising is that about 14 American Web sites were also disabled by similar hackers over the July 4 holiday weekend. The attacks reportedly hit several U.S. government agencies, including the White House, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department, the Transportation Department and the Federal Trade Commission. The attacks in both South Korea and the U.S. appear to be linked.

China has openly announced that they are moving toward an “informationized” force and it is one of their top priorities.  While we do not have to agree with their rational, it is imperative that we understand it.

The following article from tech.qq.com outlines many of those reasons.  It is a rather long piece so this will be a gist of the major points mentioned:

Unmasking the true intentions behind the repeated US “Chinese hacker threat” hype

The US media has always portrayed the Chinese hacker as omnipotent, capable of easily breaking through the White House and Pentagon network security systems to steal classified information.  On 23 June,  after US Secretary of Defense Gates announced the creation of a Cyber Warfare Operations Center, the true intentions behind the constant US “Chinese hacker threat” hype became immediately obvious to the outside world.   In fact, there are even more unknown plans underneath this, exaggerating the “Chinese hackers threat” is only one plot in a series of ploys by the  US to strengthen its network capabilities.  In truth, the establishment of the Cyber Warfare Operations Center is not the  first US attempt to expand its network capabilities.   Even before the worldwide  popularity of the internet, the US had already created a “cyber army” and carried out the practice of “cyber war.”   (US) Experts stated, they wanted the same unrivaled domination in “freedom of movement”  as the US military enjoyed on the land, sea, air and space.  The US would reject any restriction in the cyber domain in order to ensure their dominant position.

“Chinese hackers” used as the customary US pretext

Follow US media reports and you will discover that “China’s hackers” have hacked into almost all of the most important governmental websites to include the White House, Pentagon, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Congress.   Chinese hackers not only engage in such low-level network attacks as website defacements, they are also capable of carrying out such operations as  paralyzing the US power grid and stealing top-secret information on the F-35 Joint Strike Force Fighter.  It appears that in US public opinion, Chinese hackers have everything in the bag, they can penetrate US networks as if no one is manning the borders.

In regards to the US media’s “Chinese hackers threat” hype, certain US politicians and officials have also chosen to echo this position.  On April 21st of this year, the US “Wall Street Journal” reported that Chinese hackers had stolen data on the F-35 fighter aircraft, in spite of the fact that Lockheed Martin, the prime defense contractor, denied that the information had been leaked.  However,  US Defense Department spokesman Brian Whitman said, “that the specific details were unclear,” leaving it to the world’s imagination.  Subsequently, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in an exclusive interview with CBS, expressed concerns over the daily attacks on US networks and said that the Pentagon had no choice but to carry out a four-fold increase in the national cyber defense mission.

As another aspect of this, from time to time, the US military will take the initiative and make releases to the press in order to further their next policy campaign.  On 15 May, US Deputy Defense Secretary Lynn said to the press that over 100 foreign intelligence organizations had tried to infiltrate the US network and that China and Russia had the ability to attack through the network and damage US infrastructure.  In addition, two weeks later, US President Obama would appoint a “Cyber Czar” to head the cyber security office and command national cyber security forces.

In a recent interview with a Global Times reporter, Chinese military expert Song Xiaojun said that for many years the US has exaggerated the  foreign network threat and that this was actually a methodical means to  establish a Cyber Warfare Operations Center.  Fang Binxing, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, also said that the US was basically using “Chinese hacker” attacks as an excuse to create a Cyber Warfare Operations Center. According to Fang Binxing’s explanation, with regard to offensive and defensive network warfare capabilities, the US has absolute superiority from traditional space, to outer space and cyber space.

Seizing the commanding heights of cyber warfare in order to strengthen cyber attack capability

Just as the experts said, exaggerating the so-called “Chinese hacker threat” is the US “justification” for strengthening their cyber attack capability.  In fact, the historical development of the US’ cyber attack capability would far surpass the world’s imagination.  Even before the term”Chinese hacker” appeared, the US had used cyber attack in actual combat.  During the 1991 Gulf War, the US used the intelligence system to place a computer virus in the Iraqi air-defense system that Iraq had purchased from France.  Prior to the start of US air raids, remote-control means were used to activate the virus, that led to the paralysis of the Iraqi air-defense system at the time the US Air Force flew over Baghdad.

In regards to “cyber warfare”, the US military has clearly passed the stage of theoretical study.  For the first time in 1993, two scholars from the US RAND Corporation put forward the concept of “cyber warfare.”  These two scholars defined in theory what constitutes “cyber war” and also systematically described how to use cyber warfare to disrupt and destroy the enemy’s  information and communication  systems while at the same time preventing the enemy from obtaining yours.

The theoretical conclusions of US scholars have also promoted the advance and development of US cyber attack capability.  During the Kosovo War in 1999, as well as the 2003 war in Iraq, people could clearly witness the shadow of cyber warfare.  According to US military defense expert Harding’s long-term tracking evaluation of U.S. military hacker projects, the US currently has a total of 3-5000 cyber wafare specialist and 50-70,000 soldiers involved in cyber warfare.  If you add in former electronic-warfare personnel, the total number of US cyber forces comes to around 88,700.   Moreover, Commander Chilton of the US Strategic Command Center recently revealed that the US is in the process of recruiting 2-4,000 soldiers in order to form a “cyber special forces.”

It is especially worth noting the drastic reduction in the Obama administration’s missile defense system and F-22 aircraft procurement costs while at the same time increasing cyber security investment and pushing the acceleration of cyber warfare construction.  The establishment of the Cyber Warfare Command, is merely a method for the US military to integrate relevant departments and units involved in cyber attack capabilities, thereby raising it as a force multiplier.  An analyst from the UK ” Guardian” said that this was a way for the US  to integrate high-tech military units scattered all around the country, in order to launch a cyber warfare against hostile nations if it becomes necessary.

In the view of military experts, there is an even greater significance to the US creation of a cyber command, that it signals humans are entering into a historically new form of war.  A Chinese military expert, speaking on the condition of anonymity,  told a “Global Times” reporter that the US establishment of the Cyber Warfare Command signified an inevitably increase in funds and personnel that will be thrown into the domain of cyber warfare.  From a larger perspective, the US establishment of a Cyber Warfare Command signified that from now on, it was possible cyber warfare was a new type of national-warfare that had entered human history.  From here on out, if the US comes under cyber attack, it could delcare it an act of war and carry out a counterattack.

Reject any restrictions to ensure superiority

(Two paragraphs not translated: The first repeats the US freedom of movement with a blurb on SecDef Roberts Gates’ memo that Cyber Command will help ensure US freedom of movement in cyber space.  The second paragraph talks about US unwillingness to have restrictions placed on its freedom of movement and a statement by a US State Dept person claiming the US could not sign an international agreement on cyber security.)

A Chinese military expert told the “Global Times” that in terms of traditional military and nuclear strike capability, the US, the world’s top-ranked military power, had almost complete control over the four domains of land, sea, air, and space.  Creating a “cyber army” was the US military’s strategic initiative to extend its superiority into the 5th realm of the virtual world.  As the birthplace of the internet, the US clearly has a real-world advantage.   One can imagine that the US will not have much interest in cyber arms control and that it will continue to use the feeling of insecurity from other countries to ensure their “freedom of movement.”

]]> http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/2009/07/understanding-chinas-cyber-threat-perception/feed/ 9 http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/2009/07/understanding-chinas-cyber-threat-perception/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDarkVisitor/~3/G7_isNUzzwA/ http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/2009/07/why-the-attack-on-chinese-censors-failed/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:52:10 +0000 Heike http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/?p=1707 If you don’t read Chinayouren, you should.  Hell, I didn’t even know that “anonymous” netizens had planned an attack on Chinese censors.  Chinayouren is one of those people who is not only a fantastic linguist but also very well  attuned to the current social issues on the Chinese net.  He certainly knows more about the [...] If you don’t read Chinayouren, you should.  Hell, I didn’t even know that “anonymous” netizens had planned an attack on Chinese censors.  Chinayouren is one of those people who is not only a fantastic linguist but also very well  attuned to the current social issues on the Chinese net.  He certainly knows more about the mechanism of censorship inside of China than just about anyone I know.

The article on the failed attack on Chinese censors is a must read and his analysis of those “anonymous” netizens will probably surprise you.  Click the links inside the post to get the full story.

The database covers more Chinese Web sites and provides more up-to-date information about their security than any other, Zhao said in the interview. China produces the majority of the world’s malware, he said.

A history for each site in the database lists dates of malware infection, the strings of malicious code placed on the sites and which antivirus products defend viewers against their attacks. The database also stores tens of thousands of viruses found being distributed by the sites.

This article, from the People’s Daily, details Wang Zi’s efforts to bring back the patriotic spirit of the Red Hacker Alliance.

“The Tao that can be described in words is not the true Tao. The Name that can be named is not the true Name,” – the first two sentences of Tao Te Ching are the slogan of hong ke that appear on the new union’s new homepage.

After the Olympics, Wang Zi’s group retired from the web for a short time, and then on the first day of this year, the group made a bold new announcement.

The blurb on their newly-launched website reads, “Hong ke culture is back. We will hold and transmit hong ke spirit focusing on justice, pioneering and love for the motherland.”

Lin Lin, the leader of Evil Octal (another Chinese hacker organization), refutes Wang Zi’s claim to the title of new leader:

“Lion is the spiritual leader of the hong ke union,” Lin Lin, a leader of hacker group Eviloctal Security Team, told the Global Times. “And without him, no hong ke organization can be regarded as a reorganization of the original.

The article goes to great lengths to distance the organization from being government sanctioned:

Wang Zi says his union is a purely non-governmental organization. They could not register the union’s name with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology until they deleted “Zhongguo” (China) from it.

Received an interesting e-mail from one of our readers named Mark who suggested I take a look at an article dealing with Chinese fears of US hackers and the possible threat to its cyber sovereignty:

In that context, the article I came across in the English-language China Daily was an eye-opener. The title was “China at the mercy of global hackers.”

Early in the article, a Chinese academic expert on cyber warfare said: “In a worst-case scenario, a security breach could result in the breakdown of the energy supply and collapse of the financial system, not to mention a collapse of the national defense capability.… The capability to defend China’s information and cybersecurity is extremely weak, and many of its online applications remain vulnerable to assault.”

Also, sorry for the long delay in posting.  Just returned from a two-week trip to China, visited the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing and Shanghai.  Returned to a ton of work,  a zillion e-mails, broke the blog and had the flu.  Pretty full week.

We really do appreciate your patience and concern, things should be running close to normal again.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.