The Dark Visitor: Inside the World of Chinese Hackers

February 04 2010

The Dark Visitor: Inside the World of Chinese Hackers attempts to analyze the history, ideology, organization, exploits, and political motivations of the Chinese hacker network. Whenever possible, the information contained herein has been taken directly from the Chinese hacker organization itself or from interviews with individual members.

During the course of this research several interesting questions have arisen, one being, does the idea of national sovereignty include cyber sovereignty? While there are many definitions of sovereignty, most include the description, in one form or another, of the absolute power, right, or authority of the state to govern the territory within its borders.

In essence, the state owns or controls what happens inside the nation. The key word that appears to be missing in all of these definitions is the ability to exercise authority. If one accepts the premise that it is the right, combined with the ability of a nation to control its internal workings that define sovereignty, then is there a loss of sovereignty when the state fails in either of these two capacities? Specifically, can there be cyber sovereignty if we cannot secure our digital borders?

With the onslaught of hackers from other nations breaching the firewalls with impunity, how can we retain uncontested ownership? One method is to rely on the cooperation of other nations to mutually assist in the enforcement of laws related to Internet crime. What if, on the other hand, the nation in question provides tacit, if not active support of these attacks? What recourse is then available to combat these assaults? The Chinese hacker network presents just such a dilemma and can easily be viewed as a threat to US infrastructure, security, information, economics, and individual citizens.

One of the unique aspects of the Chinese hacker organization is their nationalism, which is in stark contrast to the loner/anarchist culture many associate with the stereotypical Western hacker. They are especially active during periods of political conflict with other nations and until very recently have maintained a strict code of never hacking inside China. Their sense of patriotism in defending their national honor and their stringent codes have helped bolster their reputation among the Chinese people and aided in recruiting thousands of members. Indeed, a strong argument can be made that it was political activism that initially brought the group together.

A central question surrounding the organization is what type of relationship/affiliation if any it has with the government? Is it an officially authorized apparatus of the state or is it merely used as a surrogate to enforce Beijing’s political view? Are there two groups working inside China, one a civilian organization and the other a branch of the People’s Liberation Army? Is it possible that they work in conjunction with one another or does the civilian organization serve as a cover to disguise military operations?

The next most important series of questions that need to be answered concern the connection of the group to criminal activities. Is this the same set of Chinese hackers that media headlines claim are involved in Internet crimes such as phishing,4 pharming,5 and blackmail? How are they financed? Is there a darker side to this seemingly patriotic group?

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You can download The Dark Visitor: Inside the World of Chinese Hackers by Scott Henderson in PDF format.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements……………………… 1
Preface………………………. 2
Chinese Hacker Timeline………………………6
Chapter One: History…………... 8
Beginning and Expansion (1994-1996)………………11
Green Army Founded (1997)…………….12
China Eagle Early Years (1997)……………14
Leaps, Horses, and Riots (1998)……………….15
Indonesian Riots (1998)…………… 16
Birth of Commercialism (1999)…………………20
Taiwan “Two-States” Conflict (1999)……….20
Japanese Denial of Nanjing Massacre (2000).22
Taiwan Election (2000)………………….25
China Eagle Founded (2000)..……..32
Honker Union Founded (2000)……………35
Javaphile Founded (2000)………………………36
Japanese Incidents (2001)…………………38
Japanese War Memorial (2001)………………40
Diaoyu Islands Conflict (2004)……………………….41
Honker Union Disbands (2004)…………………42
Chapter Two: Chinese Hacker Present Day……… 51
Methodology…………………….52
Net Hierarchy …….57
Numbers Game…..58
Demographics………..62
Location, Location, Location………62
Who They Are, What They Are……66
Friendly Download Site………...66
New Hacker Alliance……………69
Student Hacker Union…………72
Yaqu163……………………74
Hx99…………………………………..76
Chapter Three: Exploits and Money ……79
Wooden Horse………………………….79
Korean Game Theft…………………....82
eBay Hijacked…………………………86
Bank Fraud…………………………..87
Blackmail…………....88
Musical Hacks……………………………...90
Hacking for Fame and Fortune…………….....92
Publish or Perish………………………..93
It Pays to Advertise…………………………...94
Pornography……………………………..97
Chapter Four: Government Affiliation……….102
Black and White Do Not Exist…………….102
Intelligence and Economics……….105
Political……………………………108
Recruiting…………………….112
Communications……………………….118

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Retired from the US Army after 20 years of service in the intelligence community as a Chinese linguist. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis on Chinese studies and graduated from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey California.

In 2006, I attended the XCon2006 computer security seminar held in Beijing China and in 1997 was on special assignment to the US Embassy in the People’s Republic of China. One of my fondest memories was attending the Beijing Institute of Economic Management Immersion Program in 1995.

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