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When China Hoards Its Hackers Everyone Loses (engadget.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: For over a decade Pwn2Own -- happening this week -- has brought together security talent from across the globe in a friendly hacking competition that is a cornerstone of research and advancement on par with Black Hat and Def Con. China's hackers routinely win, sweeping the board -- notably, the Tencent and Keen teams. Pwn2Own is good-natured, and all in the name of researchers finding big bugs, nabbing great bounties and drawing attention to security holes and zero-days that need to be fixed. But this year, according to Pwn2Own manager Brian Gorenc, China is no longer allowing its researchers to compete. Prior to the start of Pwn2Own this week, Gorenc told press "There have been regulatory changes in some countries that no longer allow participation in global exploit contests, such as Pwn2Own and Capture the Flag competitions."
One thing's for certain: yearly champions Tencent's Keen Labs and Qihoo 360's 360Vulcan team are nowhere to be found and Trend Micro, the conference organizer, has confirmed to Engadget that there are no Chinese competitors in this year's competition. [...] It's a worrying development in the direction of isolationism and away from the benefits of competition in the spirit of improving security for all. It comes at a time when relations between the US and China strain under the weight of Huawei security concerns, which are not at all new, but are certainly coming to a head as American companies sever business ties with the firm.
One thing's for certain: yearly champions Tencent's Keen Labs and Qihoo 360's 360Vulcan team are nowhere to be found and Trend Micro, the conference organizer, has confirmed to Engadget that there are no Chinese competitors in this year's competition. [...] It's a worrying development in the direction of isolationism and away from the benefits of competition in the spirit of improving security for all. It comes at a time when relations between the US and China strain under the weight of Huawei security concerns, which are not at all new, but are certainly coming to a head as American companies sever business ties with the firm.
Why would you want to reveal your capabilities to your enemy? They have confirmed now they have the best in the world. They don't need to prove anything any more. Now they can build their army behind the curtain. And they will. Better hope your firewalls are up to the challenge. And you might want to start teaching Chinese in elementary school (says Wernher von Braun).
There are many ways to lose a trade war. I'm not that thrilled about the Chinese government, but for anybody who's a true-blue (or red) free marketer, which is better (i.e., more profitable):
A. a market of 340 million Americans
B. a market of 1.4 billion Chinese, or
C. a market of 7 billion humans?
FIFY
The USA wants to keep any US-discovered exploits in-house to aid in it's Orwellian pursuit of 100% monitoring and control over its citizens (and, probably, others beyond its borders).
Yep, it was Trump that just abolished term limits. Oh Wait...
I'm a capitalist myself but shouldn't a free market be equal too all players ? Aka like if you pollute and dump whatever into the atmosphere should you be able to compete with someone who spends more on cleaning after themselves ? Same goes for other more subtle and indirect state interventions. It's human nature to want to gain every advantage possible over the competition, this is just objective fact.
Also not sure there is such a thing as a market of 7 billlion humans except if you're selling... air/water ?
they don't get anything out of it that they don't already know and don't want to show everybody else how far out they are.
Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin
Everyone loses, really?
I wonder what people would think if Americas best and brightest security researchers/hackers were going to China to be involved in paid bug-hunts.
I am suspecting the reaction would border on claiming treason, there would certainly be calls for them to be cut out of any real security work, and their personal lives would probably be destroyed also...
but no, apparently EVERYONE loses if China doesnt send their best and brightest over to help out American corps..
Grow up.
This is part of Emperor Xi's crack down on foreign interactions generally. If you want to control a country and its IT in particular, then the last thing you want is your hackers interacting with foreigners.
For get Putin and Russia. China will give us more grief. And Putin will go after one more term, whereas Xi is no in for life, and by all accounts his health is good.
I would hate to be living in China now, even if the economy is booming. For the time being at least.