Analysts SecDev Group
Analysts SecDev Group and the University of Toronto researchers have discovered a network of personal computers and controlled by hackers. GhostNet – because it gave her the name of research – is a network, developed for the purpose of theft of data on major political, military and commercial. As a result, 10-month investigation was a report, which showed that under GhostNetu worked at least 1,295 computers of the 103 countries all over the world, of which about 30% of the computers belonging to diplomatic missions, ministries, private companies and NGOs .
Analysts involved in the research project, Information Warfare Monitor, set up under SecDev Group and researchers from the University of Toronto in June 2008 took up efforts to dispel doubts about the alleged Chinese hackers targeted at the inhabitants of Tibet, the Dalai Lama and even (as we remember, in March 2008 wave of protests broke out there against Chinese policy in the region). The first phase consisted in gathering information, the second – in their analysis.
Greg Walton of the Information Warfare Monitor and Shishir Nagaraja, University of Cambridge at the invitation of the Dalai Lama visited the office in summer last year institution Daramsali organizations in India, to check reports of alleged włamaniach computers. After arriving at the place stated that they were indeed the case – were infected with the malicious software. Walton after his return to Toronto shared insights with colleagues from the IWM. One of them, skis Villeneuve, in files created by malicious programs detected a strange string of 22 characters – Google search on it too sent a group of computers on the island of Hainan (importantly, houses a database of Chinese intelligence, and some army units) and web pages . The latter discovery, and then turned out, was crucial for further research. He was to the service control infected computers, which – as we read in the report – allows attackers sending instructions to the controlled pc and receiving from them.
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Members of the research team from Toronto, rozpracowującego network GhostNet: (from left) Ronald J. Deibert, Greg Walton, skis Villeneuve, Rafal Rohozinski A. (source: New York Times) research team from Toronto, network GhostNet: ( from left) Ronald J. Deibert, Greg Walton, skis Villeneuve, Rafal Rohozinski A. (source: New York Times)
Site was not password-protected. As a result, researchers have discovered a list of almost 1.3 thousand. Infected and working as a network GhostNet of which have identified the machinery belonging to the Ministry of foreign countries such as Latvia, Indonesia, Philippines, Iran, the embassy of South Korea, India, Romania, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany, Portugal; organization of ASEAN ( Association of South East Asian Nations), Asian Development Bank and NATO. For computers on which hackers take control, download Trojan was named gh0st RAT (RAT – Remote Access Tool) to control a PC in real time. Infections are carried out in two computers: user klikał attachment to an e-mail or link in your message, head of the web pages spreading Trojan. The investigation showed that the computer hacker GhostNetu can do literally everything – local search, copy and delete documents, capture passwords, and secretly control the connected devices, such as webcam or microphone.
It was also found that electronic correspondence, copied from computers at the offices of Dalai Lama, was transmitted to computers located in China’s Sichuan province, where he runs a branch of the PRC intelligence services, refugees from Tibet.
Hidden the microchip in every computer?
All computers on the market today are made from components manufactured in China. And each of the devices is secretly equipped with a hidden microchip that can be used by the Chinese military – says Robert Edinger, a former FBI agent. Is this another conspiracy theories, or cause to fear for our safety?
At the Chinese government as an initiator of the whole exercise may also indicate the number of computers attacked in Asian countries, which are closer or further neighbors of China. According to the authors of the report Tracking ‘GhostNet’: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network needs to be taken into account also other explanations – as well GhostNet network can create a “ordinary” or service of another country, is impersonating the Chinese.
As a result of the investigation concerning the surveillance of Tibetans by two researchers from the University of Cambridge – the already mentioned S. Ross Anderson – published regardless of the results of colleagues from Toronto’s own work, collected in the south by way of “The Dragon Snooping.” British guilt for the attack on the office of Dalai Lama has directly “agents of the Chinese government” and warned that the tactics used by the Chinese people will soon be popularized.
The Chinese reject any accusation of a network to inspire: “That old, meaningless stories. Chinese Government opposes cyber crime and is strictly prohibited” – said quoted by the New York Times local embassy spokesman, Wenqi Gao.
Governments act as cyber?
Experts agree that the methods (eg type of DDoS attack) is a tool increasingly used by governments against political instability. In China, Russia and the U.S. have developed a specific doctrine of military and political activities on the Internet. Americans are planning the creation of the military such as botnets, and the Russians intend ready for ordinary Internet users, issuing specific instructions on the web, as was the case in the event of an incident in Estonia in May 2007 (at this point is worth mentioning that before the attacks almost two recent years has admitted activist nationalist youth organization “Our”).
In China, the war doctrine on the web is developed from the end of the previous decade in the project of modernization of the armed forces. In accordance with the concept of asymmetric war, in the case of China’s armed clashes with the United States resulting from the dominance of an American military attack can reduce their systems. Chinese technology is now sufficiently developed that allows them to conduct advanced electronic war with the U.S. and Chinese hackers attack aimed suffer both government computers, as well as those used in industry (in 2005 in their hands wpadły NASA materials relating to eg rocket propulsion systems, solar batteries and fuel tanks). Professional Chicago Computer repair and Chicago Data recovery service.
