.
Along with demonstrating the Chinese hackers’ technical superiority over the Vietnamese, this war also demonstrated their strong patriotism.
This was not the first patriotic war the Chinese hackers have fought. From 1998 to 2001, they fought a few wars with U.S. hackers. The most famous one was the May 2001 hacker war.
On April 1, 2001, a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. surveillance airplane over the South China Sea. China claimed that the U.S. hacker organization PoizonBOx kept attacking Chinese websites after April 4.
This was not the first patriotic war the Chinese hackers have fought. From 1998 to 2001, they fought a few wars with U.S. hackers. The most famous one was the May 2001 hacker war.
On April 1, 2001, a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. surveillance airplane over the South China Sea. China claimed that the U.S. hacker organization PoizonBOx kept attacking Chinese websites after April 4.
Saying it acted to protect China, the H.U.C. organized Chinese hackers for a self-defense attack targeting the U.S. websites starting on May 1. The U.S. hackers also fought back. The war lasted for seven days until the H.U.C. announced an end to it on May 8.Patriotism is a form of pride notoriously susceptible to slights, both real and imagined.
Chinese hackers used human-wave tactics to bring the White House website down from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on May 4. Chinese hackers estimated that during the war, three Chinese websites were shut down for each U.S. website that was shut down, a reflection of the technological superiority held by the United States in 2001.
Chinese hailed the H.U.C. and its leader LION as a hero. According to the encyclopedia of the search engine Baidu, the H.U.C. was “formed in 2000 by the legendary hacker LION.” “At its peak, it had over 80,000 members and ranked fifth in the world. Its most famous action was the Denial of Service (DoS, or DDOS for Distributed Denial of Service) attack on the White House in 2001.”
Chinese Military Involvement
Zhang Zhaozhong, director of the Military Science and Technology Education and Research Office at the National Defense University, praised these Chinese hackers in an interview with the People’s Daily: “Chinese hackers released their furor [about the U.S. hegemony] and demonstrated their strong sense of mission, responsibility, and patriotism. Their motivation should be protected and praised. …”
Not only did the military praise the hackers, but it also actively included the hackers in the overall cyberwarfare strategy. China has recognized the importance of cyberwarfare for over a decade. Many Chinese military publications repeatedly quote a RAND Corporation study as saying that strategic warfare in the industrial era was nuclear war, while in the information era it is cyberwar.
To win the cyberwar, in addition to advancing its own computing technology, China has adopted the “human-wave tactic,” which was used in the Korean War against the United States.
This war doctrine makes use of, and sacrifices, a large number of people in combat to make up for technical and military disadvantages. Applying the tactic to cyberwarfare requires building up a huge cyber-attack resource base, including military staff, hackers, private companies, and Chinese netizens. The bond among all of them? Patriotism.
The Chinese military has long viewed hackers as a critical component of its war chest. Zhang Zhaozhong argued, “Utilizing [the hackers] to the maximum extent and combining the legal and underground forces together will rapidly improve our nation’s information security level.”
Many Chinese military articles have quoted examples showing that the United States has been actively recruiting hackers into its Cyber Command and suggested China should follow suit.
Not only did the military praise the hackers, but it also actively included the hackers in the overall cyberwarfare strategy. China has recognized the importance of cyberwarfare for over a decade. Many Chinese military publications repeatedly quote a RAND Corporation study as saying that strategic warfare in the industrial era was nuclear war, while in the information era it is cyberwar.
To win the cyberwar, in addition to advancing its own computing technology, China has adopted the “human-wave tactic,” which was used in the Korean War against the United States.
This war doctrine makes use of, and sacrifices, a large number of people in combat to make up for technical and military disadvantages. Applying the tactic to cyberwarfare requires building up a huge cyber-attack resource base, including military staff, hackers, private companies, and Chinese netizens. The bond among all of them? Patriotism.
The Chinese military has long viewed hackers as a critical component of its war chest. Zhang Zhaozhong argued, “Utilizing [the hackers] to the maximum extent and combining the legal and underground forces together will rapidly improve our nation’s information security level.”
Many Chinese military articles have quoted examples showing that the United States has been actively recruiting hackers into its Cyber Command and suggested China should follow suit.
INTERNET CAFE: People use computers at an Internet bar in Beijing on June 3, 2009. (Liu Jin-Pool/Getty Images)
The military put Tan through a 30-day, 16-hour-a-day workshop “where he learned to develop really high-end attacks and honed his skills.” “By December, he was found inside [Defense Department] computers, well inside DoD computers.”
CNN also reported that a hacker company, based in Zhoushan, an island near Shanghai, received funding from the Chinese military.
Nanfang Metropolitan Weekly, a Chinese publication based in Guangzhou, mentioned a junior-level hacker named “Renil.” Renil was arrested and detained for over a month for hacking some Public Security Bureau’s websites.
After being released, he took a day job to paint bridges, earning 60 yuan (US$9.37) a day. He spent his nights taking down foreign websites and was paid 1.5 yuan for each site he hacked. He made 200 yuan (US$31.23) a night. The article didn’t mention who provided the hacking funds. But who has the deep pockets and the desire to do so?
Since hackers are important to the PLA’s cyberwarfare strategy, the hacker industry is allowed to exist in China. The National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC) estimated that the Chinese “hacker industry” had over 238 million yuan (US$36 million) in revenue in 2009. Even hacker training sites are common.
Hacking, as the name suggests, is immoral. But the Chinese hackers justify themselves on the basis of their “patriotism.”
The H.U.C. website claims it is “a non-governmental patriotic organization.” It says, “All our words and actions are based on patriotism and safeguarding China’s dignity. Our voices and actions are the manifestation of China’s national integrity.”
The homepage of Hacker Union of China, another prestigious Chinese hacker group, displays a red slogan: “Safeguard the Nation’s Dignity; Love Our China; Strengthen Our China; and Glorify Our China.”
Patriotism is a form of pride notoriously susceptible to slights, both real and imagined. China’s hackers have at times been quick to anger.
In March 2008, Chinese media were filled with stories claiming that CNN had aired malicious reports about China’s suppression of Tibetans. This outraged the Chinese. Chinese hackers organized a DDOS attack against CNN.com starting April 19, 2008, and took it down for a few days.
After Chinese fans of Super Junior, a South Korean pop group, clashed with Chinese armed police in Shanghai, over 100,000 Chinese netizens participated in a “June 9 Holy War.” South Korea’s government sites, company sites, and Chinese sites related to South Korea were attacked. Though the original conflict was between Chinese fans and Chinese armed police, college students still call the attack a “patriotic event.”
There are also many hacking activities that are of unconfirmed origins but are suspected of originating in China.
In May, Boxun.com, a U.S.-based human rights site was down for days due to a DDOS attack after articles on the site called for a Jasmine Revolution in China and listed time and locations in different Chinese cities to hold protests. Change.org, which hosted a petition with over 100,000 signatures to free activist Ai Weiwei, was also taken down.
Early this month, the Internet security firm McAfee reported the largest concerted hacking action in history. What McAfee termed “Operation Shady Rat” is believed by experts to have originated in China and had 72 targets, including governments, organizations, and companies. The hacking operation started in July 2006 and lasted for a few years.
Some experts believe that China has surpassed the United States in the cyberwar race.
The H.U.C. website claims it is “a non-governmental patriotic organization.” It says, “All our words and actions are based on patriotism and safeguarding China’s dignity. Our voices and actions are the manifestation of China’s national integrity.”
The homepage of Hacker Union of China, another prestigious Chinese hacker group, displays a red slogan: “Safeguard the Nation’s Dignity; Love Our China; Strengthen Our China; and Glorify Our China.”
Patriotism is a form of pride notoriously susceptible to slights, both real and imagined. China’s hackers have at times been quick to anger.
In March 2008, Chinese media were filled with stories claiming that CNN had aired malicious reports about China’s suppression of Tibetans. This outraged the Chinese. Chinese hackers organized a DDOS attack against CNN.com starting April 19, 2008, and took it down for a few days.
After Chinese fans of Super Junior, a South Korean pop group, clashed with Chinese armed police in Shanghai, over 100,000 Chinese netizens participated in a “June 9 Holy War.” South Korea’s government sites, company sites, and Chinese sites related to South Korea were attacked. Though the original conflict was between Chinese fans and Chinese armed police, college students still call the attack a “patriotic event.”
There are also many hacking activities that are of unconfirmed origins but are suspected of originating in China.
In May, Boxun.com, a U.S.-based human rights site was down for days due to a DDOS attack after articles on the site called for a Jasmine Revolution in China and listed time and locations in different Chinese cities to hold protests. Change.org, which hosted a petition with over 100,000 signatures to free activist Ai Weiwei, was also taken down.
Early this month, the Internet security firm McAfee reported the largest concerted hacking action in history. What McAfee termed “Operation Shady Rat” is believed by experts to have originated in China and had 72 targets, including governments, organizations, and companies. The hacking operation started in July 2006 and lasted for a few years.
Some experts believe that China has surpassed the United States in the cyberwar race.
Extreme nationalism was a great danger in the 20th century, and cyberhacking is a great danger in the 21st century. As the Chinese regime develops its “patriotic” hacker army, perhaps the international community should be worried about danger being piled on danger as China’s hackers continue to ply their trade.
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