China Shuts Down Virtual Boot Camp for Hackers

February 8, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

February 8, 2010 – The Chinese Government announced Monday the news that it had shut down the country’s largest hacking website. Their statement also reported that Huanggang (east of Wuhan) authorities arrested three people connected with the operation of the website. Known as “Black Hawk Safety Net” (3800 h k.com) the website was a training ground for those desiring to learn the techniques associated with hacking and had a membership of over 12,000. The site also allegedly provided fee-for-access to malicious software downloads that could be used to propagate hacking attacks.

According to the official statement, the website shut down and arrests actually happened in late November 2009. It was not made clear why today’s announcement came nearly two and a half months after it happened. Though there is no doubt that hacking is a very popular past-time in China, based on the regularly detected events originating on IP addresses assigned to the region, it has been difficult, thus far, for experts to prove that it is a state-sponsored activity.

The announcement comes less than a month after reports surfaced alleging China had orchestrated attacks on Google, in order to gain access to Gmail accounts of known human rights activists and steal intellectual property. Though China has denied any involvement, many experts worldwide maintain that China’s state-sponsored hacking program continues unabated.