Cyberspy Network Hacked 103 Countries' Systems

Here's the deal: Canadian researchers with the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) started out seeing if there was anything to claims that the Chinese government had been using computers to spy with Tibetans living in exile.

Chinese Cyberspying: Big Time

I can see why China's government would want to keep track of Tibetans who escaped "Xizang Province." People like that could be an embarrassment. Tibet's got other names, too: but since I use American English - and so do you - I'll use a name you're likely to recognize.

So far, IWM has found 103 countries whose computers have been hacked by a small, selective, network that just happens to be mostly in China.

As The Canada Press put it:

" 'What we found is not so much unprecedented in scope and sophistication,' said Nart Villeneuve, a senior IWM analyst.

" 'But the relatively small size of the network and concentration of high-value targets is significant. It does not fit the profile for a typical cyber crime network.'

"Principal investigators Ron Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski said: 'This report serves as a wake-up call.'..."

Wake-Up Call - Not to be Alarmist, but This Sounds Serious

I've been reading about hacked government sites for some time. It's not exactly being hushed up, but news services haven't seemed overly eager to put the story up front, either.

Can't say that I blame them, considering the sort of comments I've gotten when I used the 'wrong' word for Xizang Province, and suggested that China's invasion and occupation of Tibet - and policies in general - fell somewhat short of the idea.

This time around, though, there doesn't seem to be so much polite reticence.

Good thing, too. The way I see it, breaking into another nation's files isn't nice: even it it's a virtual break-in.

Related posts:

• "Tibet: Fifty Years of Chinese Liberation, and Counting"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Marine One Plans in Tehran - File Sharing Software and Sloppiness"
  (March 1, 2009)
• "The New York Times Banned in China"
  (December 20, 2008)
• "Worm Spreading Fast in Pentagon Computers: (not) in the News"
  (November 21, 2008)
• "White House Computers Hacked, Probably by China: News That's Not Fit to Print?"
  (November 9, 2008)
• "World Bank Group Network Hacked; Chinese IPs Used: Just What We Need"
  (October 10, 2008)
• "Melamine,China, the 2008 Olympics, and Transparency"
  (September 29, 2008)
• "Liu Xiang and the 2008 Olympics: There's Something to Learn Here"
  (August 18, 2008)
• "China: Land of Harmony, Stability, Freedom, and Blue Skies"
  (August 13, 2008)
• "China Olympics Stabbing: Looks Like a Nut With a Knife"
  (August 11, 2008)
• "Forget the Olympics For Now: China's Secret Submarine Base is Serious"
  (May 2, 2008)
• "Place Names in Conventional English Form, or 'Correctly?' "
  (April 26, 2008)
• "Today's Main Event: Protesters vs. the Olympic Torch in San Francisco"
  (April 9, 2008)
• "China's Military: This Can't Safely be Ignored"
  (March 27, 2008)
• "Tibet: A Preview of Coming Attractions?"
  (March 16, 2008)
• "China: Toxic Toys and Dubious Dumplings Aren't Signs of Terrorism"
  (January 30, 2008)

In the news:

• "Reports: Cyberspy network targets governments"
  CNN (March 29, 2009)
• "Canadian researchers uncover vast computer spying operation"
  The Canadian Press (March 29, 2009)
• "Researchers: Cyber spies break into govt computers"
  The Associated Press (March 29, 2009)
• "Cyber Spy Network Hacks Computers in 103 Countries"
  FOXNews (March 29, 2009)