Posted on 03/28/2009 11:21:15 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries By JOHN MARKOFF
TORONTO — A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded.
In a report to be issued this weekend, the researchers said that the system was being controlled from computers based almost exclusively in China, but that they could not say conclusively that the Chinese government was involved.
The researchers, who are based at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, had been asked by the office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader whom China regularly denounces, to examine its computers for signs of malicious software, or malware.
Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation that, in less than two years, has infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York.
The researchers, who have a record of detecting computer espionage, said they believed that in addition to the spying on the Dalai Lama, the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.
Intelligence analysts say many governments, including those of China, Russia and the United States, and other parties use sophisticated computer programs to covertly gather information.
The newly reported spying operation is by far the largest to come to light in terms of countries affected.
This is also believed to be the first time researchers have been able to expose the workings of a computer system used in an intrusion of this magnitude.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
To Those In The Chinese Gubmint Reading Free Republic:
PLEASE STOP PUTTING TAKE-OUT MENUS UNDER MY DOOR.
Shortly China had nuclear missiles aimed at our country and Ron Brown was dead.
Now this.
No surprise.
Look ar what the Clintons gave them!!
And 5'll get you ten that's just a drop in the bucket of what is really happening. Key phrase "come to light."
And people still want to Free Trade with COMMUNIST China....
Free Trade....Costly Treason
Well, letting the Chinese manufacture our computer equipment hasn’t stopped them from spying, maybe if we put them in charge of the Pentagon, that will help.
My home router is getting constantly probed by ChiCom addresses. In fact, that country has been the only source. I suspect their hitting everyones.
In fact our own government could be doing the same thing in secrecy with companies making hardware here.
How's that for tinfoil hat paranoia ? I scare myself sometimes.
Nonsense. Closed borders/ tarrifs and duties= communism.
I get those too. todays are 64.201.90.123; 64.199.155.86; 121.12.175.194
64.201.80.0 - 64.201.95.255
LAUREL HIGHLAND TELEPHONE COMPANY 4157 Main Street
STAHLSTOWN, PA
US
21.8.0.0 - 121.15.255.255
CHINANET Guangdong province network
China Telecom
No.31,jingrong street
Beijing 100032
64.196.0.0 - 64.199.255.255
PaeTec Communications, Inc.
One PAETEC Plaza
600 Willowbrook Office Park
Fairport, NY
US
I don’t know why I keep getting these.
Norton just says they are attempts to access my computer.
Yep. If you really want to see an increase in traffic, create a phony site for a financial company or defense contractor and put a login on it.
What was it a few years ago? The Z chip or something like that?
when I do a whois check on these ip#s, all i get is the ISP that owns the domain range.
You’d have to call the admin to find out who the user is of that specific ip#
Oh I don’t know. There is so much spyware paranoia out there, it will drive you crazy, and turn you into a tin hat wearing recluse for sure if you start reading all the conspiracies circulating around.
How can you tell?
How’s that for tinfoil hat paranoia ? I scare myself sometimes.
_________
You didn’t just scare yourself, you scared me too. All of what you said is possible to do. I don’t trust this administration or our government anymore.
Yes but when the IP's are registered to some Chinese or Russian Federation owner, you kind of get an idea of what's going on.
To narrow things down even further, create a phoney political site called something like FreeTibetNow.com or BelarusForNATO.com. Create a link called forums and put a login on it. Sit back and wait for the steady stream of visitors trying to break in.
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