Tag Archive for: Beijing

Hackers are getting younger, Beijing police say

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Computer hackers who infringe upon others” legitimate rights or commit crimes are getting younger, Beijing police said on Monday.

The Cybersecurity Department with the Beijing Public Security Bureau revealed the finding in a statement after reviewing 113 hacker-related cases solved by police across the city since last year.

The department said that hacking into computer systems is easier than it used to be, and the age of the suspects is also declining.

In one case last year, for example, a man surnamed Dong was accused of hacking into an online game platform and stealing player’s personal data after spending 300 yuan ($41) to buy hacking software. As a result, the players and the platforms’ operator sustained financial losses.

The department noted that Dong’s alleged attack was successful even though he had no background in computing technology.

Four people who allegedly sold Dong the software and helped him build a personal information database in the attack were all born in 1990s, it added.

It revealed that some of the suspects spent less than 100 yuan to buy Trojan horse programs to control computer servers, and some engaged in hacking are under age 18.

While noting that the suspects mainly hacked into computer systems to steal personal data, including netizens’ identities, mobile phone numbers, home addresses and records of their online purchases, the department said that online game platforms are also major targets.

It pledged to continue to fight against hacking and urged internet users to change their passwords regularly and upgrade security software.

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OPINION – From John Lee’s Beijing visit to the selection of principal officials

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The visit of Hong Kong Chief Executive-designate John Lee to Beijing on May 30 and his selection of principal officials for the new government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) starting from July 1 have significant implications for Beijing-Hong Kong relations.

On May 30, John Lee met President Xi Jinping in Beijing. President Xi affirmed that Lee “has a firm position on loving the nation and Hong Kong,” that he is “active and willing to shoulder the responsibility,” and that he “contributes to the protection of national security and Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.” As such, the central government “fully affirms” Lee’s work and “fully trusts” him.

President Xi remarked that the new electoral system allows Hong Kong to implement the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong,” to protect citizens to have the right of being the “masters,” and to promote each social stratum and sector to play a “decisive role” in building up Hong Kong. Therefore, the “democratic system” in Hong Kong should be cherished and persisted in the long run, for it is suitable for Hong Kong’s circumstances and developmental needs. Xi added that the center “comprehensively” and “unwaveringly” implements the principle of “one country, two systems.”

Most importantly, President Xi commented that Hong Kong has already realized the important transition from “chaos to governance,” and that the HKSAR is now “at a crucial juncture from governance to emergence.” Hence, the President believes that the new HKSAR government will mark a “new chapter” in the city’s development.

President Xi’s significant remarks showed that John Lee is fully appraised and trusted by the central leadership for his contributions to the protection of national security. Implicitly, Article 23 of the Basic Law must be legislated locally soon, while a new Internet Security Law will be prepared and enacted to work alongside with the national security law to protect Beijing’s national security in the HKSAR.

After the promulgation and implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong since late June…

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“China Is Watching” – With AI-Powered Satellites & Thousands Of Cameras, Can Beijing Strike Key US, UK Targets With Pinpoint Accuracy?

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Last month, Fraser Sampson, Britain’s Commissioner for Biometrics and Surveillance Cameras, wrote to Cabinet Minister Michael Gove to convey his concerns about the dominance of Chinese video surveillance equipment in Britain.

He said he had “become increasingly concerned at the security risks presented by some state-controlled surveillance systems covering our public spaces.”

Two Chinese companies, Hikvision and Dahua, have grabbed a huge share of Britain’s CCTV market. While both, Hikvision, which has revenues of $9.3 billion, and Dahua, whose revenues are $3.7 billion, are private companies but they have major shareholders with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Also, Hikvision is known to be controlled by China Electronics Technology Group Ltd. (CETC), one of the major Chinese military-industrial groups, and is China’s largest electronics defense contractor. Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, all military-industrial groups have to obey the orders of the regime.

Tiangong_Space_Station-China
File Image: Tiangong Space Station – China

Thousands Of Cameras In Britain

The UK-based campaign group Big Brother Watch sent 4,500 freedom of information (FoI) requests to public bodies asking whether they had Hikvision or Dahua cameras employed on their premises.

Of the 1,300 who responded, 800 confirmed that they did, including nearly three-quarters of councils, 60% of schools, half of NHS trusts and universities, and nearly a third of police forces.

Moreover, Big Brother Watch found that there are 164,000 Hikvision cameras and 14,000 Dahua cameras in public spaces apart from the government bodies.

Reports suggest that many of these cameras have advanced features such as microphones, the capacity for facial and gender recognition, and distinguishing between people of different racial groups.

hypersonic
File Image: Hypersonic Missile

Some cameras can also analyze behavior, such as detecting if a fight might be breaking out. Others can even judge moods, track via heat-sensing, and learn behavior patterns to highlight any unusual activity.

Backdoors Discovered In Chinese-Made Cameras

Serious security flaws have been detected in the past in cameras produced by both of these companies, which could…

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Atos Ensures Effective and Secure Delivery of the Beijing Winter Olympics

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BEIJING & PARIS, March 18, 2022 — The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 ended after a successful edition, despite the unique context in which the event was held. These games saw more than 3,400 athletes compete, supported by key digital systems which were orchestrated and secured by Atos, leveraging its global digital platforms, infrastructure, and cloud orchestration expertise. For 30 years, Atos has been supporting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, driving digital innovation so all sports fans can experience the athletes’ achievements in real-time from anywhere, and on any device. No rest for the brave: Atos teams have already started to work on the preparation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Orchestrating the Digital Backbone Behind 187 Competitions

As the Worldwide IT Partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as well as the lead integrator, Atos has run and orchestrated the key digital IT systems that helped to safely and securely deliver the Beijing 2022.

Atos provided more than 50 critical IT applications which supported the smooth running of the overall event, including 187 competitions over a month-long period. These included the Olympic Management System which supported the planning and operations (accreditations, workforce management, volunteer portal, competition schedule, sports entries and qualifications, eVoting) and the Olympic Diffusion System delivering real-time results to fans, journalists, and broadcasters worldwide. Atos also secured the IT infrastructure with cloud-based security services, including a Security Operations Center (SOC), a Computer Security Incident Response Team, endpoint detection and response, and vulnerability assessment services.

Bringing in Key Cloud Orchestration Expertise

In a first for the Games, Atos deployed its systems on a public cloud. This resulted in the need to create applications that could run on different IT environments and to implement innovative technologies and ways of working, such as Edge computing or DevSecOps, in order to bring more security and agility to the whole architecture. All critical systems were…

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