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Chinese Hacker Behind Google Attack Found

41 points by jolie 17y ago

rbanffy 17y ago
> Does this news signal the beginning of a new East v. West cold war? Cool! Moon rockets, faster computers, government funding for weird projects... Fun toys come out of cold wars ;-)
- gchucky 17y ago
  Men Who Stare At Computers?
- garply 17y ago
  What? I can't believe that this question was asked in seriousness. Edit: I've given a lot of thought to the notion of war between the US and China. I think it has a non-trivial possibility of occurring. But not in the near future, and not over such an insignificant event. My conclusions are that, should such a war occur, it would be sparked by the Chinese mainland taking Taiwan by force very quickly and that it wouldn't happen until China felt it was on a near level with the US economically (something that is still quite far away). I just feel like the US news has taken a really anti-Chinese turn over the past year or two. I suspect that it has to do with the poor American economic situation and a desire for a common enemy.
  - jolie 17y ago
    Is it really an insignificant event, though? A foreign government staging cyber attacks on human rights activists and corporations? I've done a lot of reporting on China over the past year, and yes, and lot of it's been negative coverage having to do with censorship and this Google debacle. When China gives me something awesome to write about, I'll cover that fairly, as well. For example, Richard MacManus is going to be having a conversation with Ai Weiwei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei) in a couple weeks, and I know there will be some positive news from that.
    - pavs 17y ago
      >Is it really an insignificant event, though? A foreign government staging cyber attacks on human rights activists and corporations? You do realize that this has been going on for many year by many countries?
  - tarkin2 17y ago
    I'm not sure if the media coverage was as negative, but it may be worthwhile comparing the China fascination with that of the Japan fascination of the late 80s. When it looked like Japan would overtake the US's superpower position it was understandable US media took a particular interest in all things Japanese. And if you're looking at a potential superior, it think it's equally predictable to look at that possible negative consequences of such a relationship change.
    - tarkin2 17y ago
      A similarity may also be seen regarding the occasional anti-Americanism in poplar media (that is, not in the political arena) in Europe, particularly in France and Britain (albeit drastically reduced now Obama is president). Both countries, like all countries I suspect, would like to be the sole superpower, and when an occasion occurs to poke fun at, or seriously criticise, justifiably or not, the actual superpower then it will of course be readily taken up. This is not specific to either European countries or the US, but I would argue at any power-relationship: with those at the lower rungs vying to take their place at the top, and voicing their arguments against the one at the top at any time possible. Arguably China isn't the sole or a superpower as yet, but it seems to be a worry for the US (as it was regarding Japan in the 80s) and it seems to be a goal of China, aiming to regain 'honour' after the British opium wars and the Japanese invasion, among other events, which seem to have caused the Chinese to feel such shame.
  - philwelch 17y ago
    A shooting war will never happen between the US and China. Both countries have nuclear weapons. Almost as bad, both countries have the ability to unilaterally bankrupt the other--China through fire-selling their stash of US dollars and the US through cutting off imports from China. The problem is that either step on its own would be mutually disastrous. If China floods the market with cheap US dollars, the RMB (which is pegged to the USD) crashes too. If the US cuts off Chinese imports, our cost of living soars even before taking into account the hyperinflation China could cause for us. Taiwan and China will reunify, but they will reunify peaceably. It will follow largely the example of Hong Kong.
    - garply 17y ago
      I basically agree with this and find this to be the most likely scenario by far. I think the economies would have to be much more decoupled than they are today for a war to happen, and I don't see that happening.
    - btilly 17y ago
      I don't see the reunification happening in the next few decades. Taiwan is a democracy these days, and the public mood there is very strongly against reunification. Unlike with Hong Kong there is no third party in charge that the negotiation can happen with.
      - philwelch 17y ago
        If the Taiwanese are so against unification, why do they keep voting for the Kuomintang--which is the party that has been negotiating with the Communists for reunification? Taiwan can remain a democracy under the PRC. The real question is whether the rest of China will become democratic as well. I imagine that's the real reason the KMT wants reunification--not so the communists can have power over Taiwan, but so the KMT can have power over the mainland.
        btilly 17y ago
        Nothing is quite so cut and dry as all that. The KMT is willing to negotiate for reunification, but on such terms that it is pretty surely not going to happen. This is a fit with Taiwanese attitudes as revealed in polls. Which is overwhelmingly to maintain the status quo. However if forced to pick between independence and reunification, independence is preferred by something like a 2 to 1 margin. But Taiwan is painfully aware of what a declaration of the risks that a declaration of independence would bring, hence the desire to maintain the current status of having independence in substance only. Incidentally your comment about Taiwan remaining a democracy under PRC looks like a nod to Taiwan remainING a democracy under PRC control with an arrangement similar to Hong Kong and Macau. If so then you should note that in a 2005 poll nearly 80% of the country is opposed to that idea.
- whyenot 17y ago
  Yeah, and if we were the Chinese, we could even afford to pay for them :) This time around we'd be playing the role of the Soviet Union, and we'd probably be the ones who end up broken and bankrupt. Maybe... maybe they'll at least let us keep some of the toys?
hendler 17y ago
Two interesting notes: Looks like it was IE6 exploits : "the code [...] exploited a security loophole in IE6". And title is very misleading. A hacker was found who wrote some code used by the Hackers "He didn't launch the attacks himself, and the U.S. cybersecurity team that tracked him down said that he didn't want his work to be used for attacks of this nature and magnitude."

41 points by jolie 17y ago

> Does this news signal the beginning of a new East v. West cold war? Cool! Moon rockets, faster computers, government funding for weird projects... Fun toys come out of cold wars ;-)

gchucky 17y ago
Men Who Stare At Computers?
garply 17y ago
What? I can't believe that this question was asked in seriousness. Edit: I've given a lot of thought to the notion of war between the US and China. I think it has a non-trivial possibility of occurring. But not in the near future, and not over such an insignificant event. My conclusions are that, should such a war occur, it would be sparked by the Chinese mainland taking Taiwan by force very quickly and that it wouldn't happen until China felt it was on a near level with the US economically (something that is still quite far away). I just feel like the US news has taken a really anti-Chinese turn over the past year or two. I suspect that it has to do with the poor American economic situation and a desire for a common enemy.
- jolie 17y ago
  Is it really an insignificant event, though? A foreign government staging cyber attacks on human rights activists and corporations? I've done a lot of reporting on China over the past year, and yes, and lot of it's been negative coverage having to do with censorship and this Google debacle. When China gives me something awesome to write about, I'll cover that fairly, as well. For example, Richard MacManus is going to be having a conversation with Ai Weiwei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei) in a couple weeks, and I know there will be some positive news from that.
  - pavs 17y ago
    >Is it really an insignificant event, though? A foreign government staging cyber attacks on human rights activists and corporations? You do realize that this has been going on for many year by many countries?
- tarkin2 17y ago
  I'm not sure if the media coverage was as negative, but it may be worthwhile comparing the China fascination with that of the Japan fascination of the late 80s. When it looked like Japan would overtake the US's superpower position it was understandable US media took a particular interest in all things Japanese. And if you're looking at a potential superior, it think it's equally predictable to look at that possible negative consequences of such a relationship change.
  - tarkin2 17y ago
    A similarity may also be seen regarding the occasional anti-Americanism in poplar media (that is, not in the political arena) in Europe, particularly in France and Britain (albeit drastically reduced now Obama is president). Both countries, like all countries I suspect, would like to be the sole superpower, and when an occasion occurs to poke fun at, or seriously criticise, justifiably or not, the actual superpower then it will of course be readily taken up. This is not specific to either European countries or the US, but I would argue at any power-relationship: with those at the lower rungs vying to take their place at the top, and voicing their arguments against the one at the top at any time possible. Arguably China isn't the sole or a superpower as yet, but it seems to be a worry for the US (as it was regarding Japan in the 80s) and it seems to be a goal of China, aiming to regain 'honour' after the British opium wars and the Japanese invasion, among other events, which seem to have caused the Chinese to feel such shame.
- philwelch 17y ago
  A shooting war will never happen between the US and China. Both countries have nuclear weapons. Almost as bad, both countries have the ability to unilaterally bankrupt the other--China through fire-selling their stash of US dollars and the US through cutting off imports from China. The problem is that either step on its own would be mutually disastrous. If China floods the market with cheap US dollars, the RMB (which is pegged to the USD) crashes too. If the US cuts off Chinese imports, our cost of living soars even before taking into account the hyperinflation China could cause for us. Taiwan and China will reunify, but they will reunify peaceably. It will follow largely the example of Hong Kong.
  - garply 17y ago
    I basically agree with this and find this to be the most likely scenario by far. I think the economies would have to be much more decoupled than they are today for a war to happen, and I don't see that happening.
  - btilly 17y ago
    I don't see the reunification happening in the next few decades. Taiwan is a democracy these days, and the public mood there is very strongly against reunification. Unlike with Hong Kong there is no third party in charge that the negotiation can happen with.
    - philwelch 17y ago
      If the Taiwanese are so against unification, why do they keep voting for the Kuomintang--which is the party that has been negotiating with the Communists for reunification? Taiwan can remain a democracy under the PRC. The real question is whether the rest of China will become democratic as well. I imagine that's the real reason the KMT wants reunification--not so the communists can have power over Taiwan, but so the KMT can have power over the mainland.
      - btilly 17y ago
        Nothing is quite so cut and dry as all that. The KMT is willing to negotiate for reunification, but on such terms that it is pretty surely not going to happen. This is a fit with Taiwanese attitudes as revealed in polls. Which is overwhelmingly to maintain the status quo. However if forced to pick between independence and reunification, independence is preferred by something like a 2 to 1 margin. But Taiwan is painfully aware of what a declaration of the risks that a declaration of independence would bring, hence the desire to maintain the current status of having independence in substance only. Incidentally your comment about Taiwan remaining a democracy under PRC looks like a nod to Taiwan remainING a democracy under PRC control with an arrangement similar to Hong Kong and Macau. If so then you should note that in a 2005 poll nearly 80% of the country is opposed to that idea.
whyenot 17y ago
Yeah, and if we were the Chinese, we could even afford to pay for them :) This time around we'd be playing the role of the Soviet Union, and we'd probably be the ones who end up broken and bankrupt. Maybe... maybe they'll at least let us keep some of the toys?

hendler 17y ago

Two interesting notes: Looks like it was IE6 exploits : "the code [...] exploited a security loophole in IE6". And title is very misleading. A hacker was found who wrote some code used by the Hackers "He didn't launch the attacks himself, and the U.S. cybersecurity team that tracked him down said that he didn't want his work to be used for attacks of this nature and magnitude."