Why Hasn’t China Cracked Down on Its Rainmen?

By | January 19, 2006

Another mainstream media look at the alleged “Titan Rain” cyberwar strategy of the Chinese, where organised, highly disciplined and experienced gangs ferret around in Western computers. This one is from today’s Guardian Unlimited — Smash and grab, the hi-tech way:

Sources involved in tracking down the gang say the Chinese group is just one of a number of organised groups around the world that are involved in a hi-tech crime wave, some working for governments, others highly organised criminal gangs. “We have seen three attacks a day from this group in the past week and there are a lot of other groups out there,” said the source. “You could say that the iceberg is now in view.”

That said, it seems clear that this kind of thing has some government sanction:

Privately, UK civil servants familiar with NISCC’s investigation agree that the attacks on the UK and US are coming from China. This almost certainly means some state sanction or involvement – perhaps even a “shopping list” of requirements. Some of the attacks have been aimed at parts of the UK government dealing with human rights issues – “a very odd target”, according to one UK security source.

The point is that Internet activity is heavily circumscribed in China:

There is another, more compelling reason. “Hacking in China carries the death penalty,” says Professor Neil Barrett, of the Royal Military College at Shrivenham. “You also have to sign on with the police if you want to use the internet. And then there is the Great Firewall of China, which lets very little through – and lets [the Chinese government] know exactly what is happening.” The internet traffic to the UK, and its origin, would all be visible to the Chinese government. Finding the culprits would, in theory, be a simple process.

So why are they still out there, and why can we narrow down their workplace to a single province?

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