China strikes back at hackers

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 8 Feb 2010 at 08:45

The Chinese government claims to have shut down the country's largest hacker-training website, hitting back at reports that it was behind attacks on Google.

The "Black Hawk Safety Net" website taught hacking techniques and provided malicious software downloads for its 12,000 members in exchange for a fee, according to the Wuhan Evening News newspaper.

The website was shut in late November and three of its members arrested on suspicion of criminal activity, the newspaper reported, without saying why the news was only released now.

Wuhan happens to be home to the Communication Command Academy, which trains hackers, according to US congressional testimony by cyber expert James Mulvenon in 2008.

The popularity of hacking in China, and hackers' use of multiple addresses and servers, in Taiwan and elsewhere, makes it hard to prove how or by whom they are coordinated.

The country has received international attention since Google threatened to quit China, citing theft of its intellectual property by hackers. China denied involvement in the episode, claiming it does not condone hacking.