Tag Archive for: favor

Chinese hacking firm buys officials’ favor with alcohol, women


  • By Dake Kang and Zen Soo / AP, BEIJING

China’s hackers for hire take government officials out for lavish banquets, binge drinking and late-night karaoke with young women to win favor and business, as revealed last month in a highly unusual leak of internal documents from a private contractor linked to Chinese police.

China’s hacking industry is vast in size and scope, but also has shady business practices, disgruntlement over pay and work quality, and poor security protocols, the documents showed.

Private hacking contractors are companies that steal data from other countries to sell to Chinese authorities. Over the past two decades, Chinese state security’s demand for overseas intelligence has soared, giving rise to a vast network of private hackers for hire companies that have infiltrated hundreds of systems outside China.

Photo: AP

Although the existence of these hacking contractors is an open secret in China, little was known about how they operate.

However, the leaked documents from a firm called I-Soon (安洵信息) have pulled back the curtain, revealing a seedy, sprawling industry where corners are cut, and rules are murky and poorly enforced in the quest to make money.

Leaked chat records showed that I-Soon executives are colluding with competitors to rig bidding for government contracts. They pay thousands of dollars in “introduction fees” to contacts who bring them lucrative projects.

I-Soon has not commented on the documents.

Mei Danowski, a cybersecurity analyst who wrote about I-Soon on her blog, Natto Thoughts, said the documents showed that China’s hackers for hire work much like any other industry in China.

“It is profit driven,” Danowski said. “It is subject to China’s business culture — who you know, who you dine and wine with, and who you are friends with.”

Although I-Soon boasted about its hacking prowess in…

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A favor from Russian ransomware hackers


When President Joe Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, he will undoubtedly bring up — as he should — the matter of repeated ransomware attacks against US targets by Russian-based hackers. Putin could surely do more, something, to rein in the cybercriminals.





© nmoney/shutterstock


The Kremlin has a history of working with hackers, and many experts believe the cyberattacks would not be happening without some measure of consent from Putin. Given the strained relationship between both countries, one can easily picture Putin’s sporting his self-satisfied grin at the sight of the United States even mildly hobbled, looking vulnerable as the result of actions by clever Russian computer aces, as happened last month when Russian hackers struck the Colonial Pipeline, causing gasoline shortages and panic buying across the US Southeastern seaboard.

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Biden should demand action from Putin, and he should take steps to make sure hackers who target the US, and the governments who facilitate their work or turn a blind eye to it, pay a price. Anything else will result in ever-escalating assaults on America’s ability to function.

And yet, the hacks and the ransomware attacks — in which cybercriminals demand money in exchange for releasing a computer network — are serving a useful purpose for the United States. They are warning the country about a growing danger, and helpfully pointing out precisely where the vulnerabilities lie.

The future of conflict is here. Whether a full-on war or low-grade clashes, cyberattacks are sure to play a major role in any significant battles for the foreseeable future.

The Biden administration has caught on to that inescapable fact and seems ready to tackle it.

The Justice Department has raised investigations into ransomware attacks and similar hacks to the same priority as fighting terrorism, and not a moment too soon.

What we have seen so far has been disturbing, but it’s only a taste of what could come. Among the hacks we know about are the ransomware attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, JBS — the world’s biggest meat producer — the New York City subway system, a local California police department and on…

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Cybercriminals Favor Targeting Top Executives, Small Businesses, Money: Verizon Data Breach Report – CTOvision

Cybercriminals Favor Targeting Top Executives, Small Businesses, Money: Verizon Data Breach Report  CTOvision

Verizon published last week the 12th edition of its Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) based on real-world data from 41,686 confirmed security incidents …

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