[ISN] Chinese Hackers Might Hit Japanese Websites via Korean Servers

[InfoSec News]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=040000&biid=2005071460188

JULY 14, 2005 
by Sun-Hong Park 

It is reported that Chinese hackers might mount major attacks on
Japanese websites via Korean servers on August 15. The news is causing
a stir in Korea. The Korean servers, which the hackers might use to
avoid IP tracing, include not only those of universities but also
those of some government agencies. The report will continue to create
ripple effects across Korea.

Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po reported on July 2, "The Association of China's
Red Hackers, one of the world's five hacking groups, plans to launch
formidable attacks on the anti-Chinese websites in Japan between July
and September."

The Association of China's Red Hackers, the largest hacker
association, consists of students and graduates of Peking University's
Center of Science and Society.

Wen Wei Po added that the association grouped their members into three 
teams with each one focusing on the following three tasks: collecting 
information to find weak points of their targets; preparing for 
Japan's counterattacks; and hitting Japan's anti-Chinese websites 
including that of Fusosha, a center of contention over distorted 
history textbook. 

One member of the Chinese hackers' group told his Korean acquaintance, 
"They have chosen three candidate servers of a Korean gaming company 
and universities as their hacking routes. The security level of those 
servers is lower than expected. So they are thought to be proper for 
avoiding IP tracking." 

The hacker said, "As of July 13, 45,000 hackers in China joined our 
plan. Keep an eye on us on August 15."

In April this year, Chinese hackers coincided their attacks on 
Japanese websites with mass anti-Japanese demonstrations across 
Mainland China. But their attempts failed because the Japanese 
authorities blocked all Chinese IP addresses. That is why the Chinese 
hackers want to hijack Korean IP addresses this time. They seem to 
believe that if they launch assaults via Korean servers, Japan would 
find it hard to block the Korean IP addresses. 

On the matter, Han Seong-guk, a computer engineering professor at 
Wonkwang University, commented, "If Chinese hackers are allowed to 
exploit Korean servers freely, that is tantamount to our giving up 
Korea's sovereignty in cyber warfare. If they use Korean servers 
without permission, it means that they are able to easily change the 
content of information there."