Forwarded From: shadowvrai@trust-me.com
http://cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9902/22/BC-CHINA-COMPUTERS-HACKE.reut/index.html
China uncovers nearly 100 computer hacking cases
February 23, 1999
Web posted at: 12:00 AM EST (0500 GMT)
SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China cracked some 100 cases of computer
hacking last year ranging from mischief to serious crime, the
International Finance News said on Tuesday.
Public Security officials estimated that the uncovered cases represented
just 15 percent of true activity, and with growing use of computers the
crime was proliferating at an alarming 30 percent a year, the newspaper
said.
Some 95 percent of China's computer networks linked to international ones
had fallen prey to attempts by hackers -- called "hei ke" or "black
guests" in Chinese -- from inside and outside the country, it said.
Banks, financial institutions and securities houses were the main targets,
but most cases were not reported for commercial reasons, it said.
The newspaper said most hackers were young people who attacked networks to
show off their programming skills, and many escaped arrest as China has no
specific laws for prosecuting electronic break-ins.
But in one prominent case last year, China sentenced to death two brothers
who broke into a bank's computer network and stole 260,000 yuan ($31,400).
They were prosecuted for theft.
Hao Jinglong, an accountant at a branch of the Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and his brother Hao
Jingwen electronically wired non-existent deposits into their accounts and
withdrew the funds, official media have reported.
In another case unreported by state media, an official Chinese website
dedicated to promoting Beijing's view of human rights was defaced last
year by a foreign hacker outside China who labelled it propaganda.
China maintains strict control over the Internet, including blocking sites
which it deems politically sensitive or pornographic.
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Received on Thu Mar 11 17:28:33 1999