PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF HACKING

By: Lani N, Ashley R, Michael R, Gregory R

Panda Attack

The Panda Burns Incense computer worm, created by 27-year-old Li Jun, wreaked havoc for months in China in 2006 and 2007

The so called Panda Attack infiltrated passwords, financial information, and cash balances from some gaming websites directly to the creator Mr. Li

The Panda attack became “the first case of organized crime in China, using a computer virus,”

Panda Attack

Mr. Li would drop samples of his work on the web for feedback

They made around $18,000 throughout the whole process

Panda Attack

Mr. Li served 3 years of his 4 year sentence for destruction of property related to hacking

Mr. Lei spent 1 year in the same jail

Still new strains of the Panda worm are coming out

Chinese Hackers

Some of the biggest cyber-security worries trace back to China

Though China has a high percent of hackers, they are not nearly as talented as U.S. and Russian hackers

Chinese Hackers

Sales of malicious software designed for hackers are called “training” or “tutoring” so as to bypass laws against these software sales

Normal Chinese hacker operations work as an assembly line

Hacker forums are said to be recruiting grounds for Chinese Government

Chinese Hackers

Hackers and Internet security people say that online chat rooms and forums are criminal training schools and hardware stores

Mr. Li learned his craft and launched his attack within a hacker network in China that remains an active and growing threat to global computer users.

Chinese Hackers

The identity, motivation and methods of Chinese hackers are rarely traceable. But based on interviews with security experts, forensic reports from independent tech firms, and the hackers themselves, the Panda case offers a rare window into how the underground world of Chinese hacking operates.

Has been said that a person formerly involved in spreading the Panda virus was hired soon after to work for the police of China – China denies this

Aurora

Google Inc. last month alleged that it and more than 20 other companies were breached in a cyberattack it traced to China

Unlike the Panda attack, which left a calling card and spread quickly and randomly, the perpetrators of Aurora targeted specific employees within the companies they attacked and went to great lengths to cover their tracks.

Aurora

The hackers targeted a small number of employees who controlled source code management systems, which handle the myriad changes that developers make as they write software, said George Kurtz, chief technology officer at anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc

The details from McAfee show how the breach of just a single PC at a large corporation can have widespread repercussions across the broader business

Aurora

He said the common link in several of the cases that McAfee reviewed is that the hackers used source code management software from privately held Perforce Software Inc, whose customers include Google and many other large corporations.

the hackers succeeded in stealing source code from several of their victims

The attackers also had an opportunity to change the source code without the companies' knowledge, perhaps adding functions so the hackers could later secretly spy on computers running that software

But investigators have yet to uncover any evidence that suggests that they made such changes

Conclusion

Mr. Li gave security experts a good glimpse in to the hacker world of China

Chinese hackers will continue to be a threat as well as all other hackers around the world

This is why so much money is spent on firewall protections and other security measures to prevent hacking and make the internet as safe as possible

Questions