Chinese Hackers

Apple: China Hackers Crank Out Fake iTunes Gift Cards Barrons — Well, this is disturbing. AppleInsider today picked up on a post by the music industry site Outdustry.com which asserts that hacker in China have figured out a way to produce usable iTunes gift cards, and are now selling them on various Asian Web sites. On Taobao.com, you can apparently buy a $200 iTunes gift card for the equivalent of $2.60. What you’re really buying, the post notes, is a gift voucher code that the seller provides through Taobao’s IM software; you then type the code into your iTunes account. Payment is through AliPay, a PayPal clone which like Taobao.com is controlled by the giant Alibaba Group, in which Yahoo (YHOO) is a large investor. The post said that according to one of the sellers the voucher codes are generated using “key generators.” click to read complete article

Conficker worm might originate from China CNET News — There's been a lot of fuss about theConficker worm. However, there is a $250,000 question: the origin of the virus. This is the amount Microsoft is putting up as a reward for any information leading to an arrest related to the case. Folks at BKIS, a Vietnamese security firm that makes the BKAV antivirus software, announced Monday that they found clues that the virus may have originated from China. Previously, there were rumors that it might have been from Russia or Europe. click to read complete article

China using Web to spy on enemies Metro International — China is in control of a mysterious cyber-espionage network — dubbed GhostNet — which infects high-profile computer systems, using Web cams and microphones to spy on sovereign governments and ministries the world over. Researchers in Canada and Britain have both independently uncovered the murky Internet spy system, though it is still unclear whether the vast espionage web is an instrument of the Beijing government or simply some underground hacker cabal. click to read complete article