Slashdot Mirror
China Says It Lacks Skills To Hack US Systems
ScentCone writes "A spokesman for China's foreign ministry says that — China being the 'developing nation' that it is — he doubts that his country has the sophistication to hack foreign systems. This in response to statements by two congressmen regarding apparent probing by China-based crackers into congressional systems for information about communication between US officials and activists in China."
How would we, chinese people with leetle leetle penises have the courage to do something like that against big americans with big penises?
They threaten to hack the universe and boast about hitting powerplants and such.. then a month or two later they get accused of hacking an important computer system and they suddenly don't have the sophistication to do so?
Lacks the skills to lie convincingly to anybody it doesn't have the power of life or death over, more like.
So who did it then, elves?
China has the money and skills to build the Great Firewall. They are clearly capable.
The guy that delivers my chinese food seems to be pretty computer savvy, he farms WoW gold on his time off :)
:P
Okay.. flame away
I came, I conquered, I coredumped
...they generally outsource all their hacking in exchange for WoW gold.
For talented crackers, it would be relatively easy to cover their tracks by using several compromised machines as proxies for their attack.
China has large internet user base and the average Jin would likely secure their home machine as well as average Joe across the ocean.
There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
...you do have the Great Firewall thing going for you...which is nice.
Just like in Bug's Life. If we let the ants know how powerful they are, they will crush us!
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
Read the fine article. Quoted from second article:
"The extent of the intrusions on Capitol Hill, which officials said began in August 2006, was unclear, although Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), whose office had four computers affected, said that other members of Congress were targeted, as well as at least one congressional committee. "They got everything," Wolf said at a news briefing, describing the attack on his office systems.
Wolf said that after one of the attacks, a car with license plates belonging to Chinese officials went to the home of a Chinese dissident in the Washington suburbs and took photographs of it."
then how did one of their submarines pop up in the middle of one of our Navy carrier groups undetected?
Why would they need to have any skill at it at all? They have no independent news sources. It's all state propaganda machines. After 50 years of that nonsense the average Chinese citizen has no real ability to question authority, thus the ability of people in authority to convincingly lie is lower.
Weesa nots smart enough for yousa craaazy Americans with your knock-off Cisco boxes...weesa kinda sold you.
If they can get the US to let him go, Tariq Aziz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_Aziz would make the perfect spokesperson for the Chinese denial of attacks.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Remember, they readily come here to get educated at our grad schools as well. Not only could they have learned there, they could have learned HERE as well.
I'm far too simple-minded to post a satirical comment on Slashdot.
Nothing to see here, western capitalist lackeys. Move along.
Have gnu, will travel.
You forgot one:
Are the target systems largely running stock versions of Windows?
*check*
------
For those that consider this Microsoft bashing substitute the following:
Are the target systems running large, complex, "user friendly" operating systems with more permutations of options than you can shake a stick at and lots of known vulnerabilities that can only be fixed by downloading updates from a commercial source who is picky about who is allowed to download those updates?
*check*
I almost died! I almost choked on my lunch reading this summary. I sit down...take a bite, open slashdot, and nearly choke! Damn you editors!
I propose that stories with claims THAT ridiculous this should have title and summary hidden with a warning so that readers eating or drinking can be prepared! I mean really...think how many geeks you might endager with a headline of "Openly Gay Republican Elected to Office"
The only change I can believe in is what I find in my couch cushions.
"then how did one of their submarines pop up in the middle of one of our Navy carrier groups undetected?"
It didn't, that's what the Navy said to convince people like you to give them more money.
And you fell for it.
Hah, I just saw some unique pictures on television. In the vicinity of the last earthquakes, people lost their kids in school. A Belgian reporter was with some parents, and those people are mad at the Chinese government, and there are accusations of corruption. A local official and a policeman tried to remove those people from around the school, got scolded by their citizens and left with their tails between their legs.
Sorry, the Developing nation excuse is lame. Developing nations dont produce and design electronics devices, design and build ICBMs, submarines, warships, launch GPS satellites, etc.
And using thier logic, the USA is also a developing nation. Maybe we are a little more developed, but we still have a way to go and are making progress.
The obvious question I haven't heard anybody ask: why did these congressmen have sensitive information on machines connected to the Internet?
In spy stories you commit things to memory because they're too dangerous to write down. Have we degenerated to the point where you not only write things down but you put them on the Internet with a big sign saying "steal me?"
While the "Great Firewall" is expansive within China's borders, it isn't all that technically impressive. There are internet gateways leading in and out of the country - you already have to have hardware managing that as those pipes lead downwards to major infrastructure backbones, government networks, individual ISP's, etc. Not particularly difficult a step to add filtering/blocking/poisoning to internet requests from the subsidiary networks (not to suggest that it isn't a lot of man hours/hardware involved, but it isn't exactly rocket science - just extensions off of established filtering techniques).
Most of the filtering isn't even being handled by the "Great Firewall" but is instead handled by individual ISP's instituting their own filtering methods and complying with government issued blocklists, as well as citizen self censorship. While I don't mean to suggest that China doesn't have the programming talent to attack other nations networks (especially our American soft and squishy ones), but the "Great Firewall" is hardly a golden example of technological achievement.
(Wikipedia has a fairly good outline of China's known practices, those interested might want to take a look at it before doing some more in-depth research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China)
Finally! We have used a pixar movie for our wisdom. I'm glad our kids are watching these things. Now to find a "Cars" reference...
Disclaimer: I am not god.
We may not be created equal
But we can be treated equal.
My company is expanding into China in 2009-2010. Over 100 locations with Windows boxes acting as POS terminals (Point Of Sale and Piece Of Shit both apply here, unfortunately), connecting back to our network infrastructure in the U.S.
I'm a Network Systems Analyst, but not in a Information Security role. Still, I felt it prudent to ask recently; "so, how are we hardening the systems going into China?" only to be met with the deer in the headlights look. I pointed out the inception of this story and then went on to describe how people could buy in iPhone 1.0 in China last year...30-60 days before last June's U.S. launch. And the fact that virtually ANY software you wanted was available, for pennies, in China. Hacked, cracked, and pre-loaded with malware galore in many cases, to be sure, but available nonetheless.
I didn't get the sense my comments got anyone in power even a little concerned. Luckily, I can retire in Fall 2009. I'll get to read about this upcoming disaster in the easy chair with a cup of joe. I may even think it funny since I won't have to do any mitigation of the virtually guaranteed compromise(s) that will occur.
Underestimating the potential threats in this part of the world is painfully stupid. Which explains the idiot who left an unsecured laptop unattended in a foreign country that isn't exactly an ally, economic or otherwise. There are several firms in that part of the world that offer services to Fortune firms doing business in Asia BECAUSE of the increased risks.
Disingenious? Naw...this is an outright lie, plain and simple.
I am my own gestalt.
The art of war, Sun Tzu (6th. cent. B.C.), I.18 and 1.19
I can't buy China's official story on this one.
Damn you, falling U.S. dollar!
"Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." Said over 2500 years ago. That's before Jesus Christ superstar, btw.
You should all read Sun Tzu and have a bash at playing "Go" as well.
Deleted
So what are they just practicing on my Pix?
Get up!
A direct click-through worked for me when I tried it from the "Preview" page for my comment, but I guess my browser must have just been pulling the file out of cache rather than hitting up the server again.
Also, I notice that between the two of us we've currently received three "+1, Informative" moderations for helping people hear penis jokes in exaggerated accents. Thanks for helping me do my part in making the internet such an amazing informational resource.
The Chinese have yet to invent anything remotely resembling a decent breakfast. (Thin rice gruel does not count)
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.