Chinese Web sites sell hackers all sorts of Trojan horse programs and other malicious software designed to penetrate computer security systems. Online gaming in China alone presents hackers with a market whose value, according to a recent estimate by the state broadcaster CCTV, is 10 billion yuan (1 billion euros) annually [or $1.37 billion].
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Using Trojan software secretly implanted in targeted computers, hackers steal users’ personal information and game accounts and logins and then transfer valuable, hard-won virtual items and sell them via online sites. Meanwhile, non-hackers dip deep into their pockets to stay competitive in the online games.
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According to Chinese experts, the country’s Trojan horse attackers derive 95 percent of their revenues from selling virtual items and online game accounts.
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The controversy surrounding recent sophisticated cyberattacks on the U.S.-based Internet giant Google Inc. has put a spotlight on China’s booming hacker industry. Google experts suspect that the attacks originated in China, which the Chinese government has dismissed as groundless.
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The spat has become highly politicized. Google said it was reviewing its operations in China and would relax self-censorship, under which it abided by the Chinese government’s Web restrictions, even if this prompted a shutdown of its Internet search engine in China.
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Now China’s propaganda machine is doing all it can to show that the country is cracking down hard on cybercrime. Part of the campaign is this week’s report by state media that the biggest training Web site for hackers, called the Black Hawk Safety Net, had been closed.
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The report, however, quickly turned out to be old news that was announced only in the wake of the Google dispute. The Web site was actually shut down in November. Meanwhile, similar Web sites continue to provide hacker training and spyware with impunity. One such site offers answers to the tantalizing question: How do I…