WebProNews

Tag: Chinese censorship

  • China Begins Censoring Weibo Microblogging Service

    Weibo is China’s version of Twitter, and the microblogging service shares much in common with its Western counterpart. Weibo users anonymously report news and have been known to discuss topics often forbidden on the Chinese web. They even spread false death rumors the way Twitter does. The Chinese Communist Party sees unabridged, anonymous speech, especially when it’s about political corruption, as dangerous to the country’s social order, and censors have tried various ways to implement blocks and filters on Weibo.

    Sina, the company behind Weibo, implemented “user contracts” earlier this month to try and suppress the rampant political speech and debate going on between its 200 million users. This week, The New York Times is reporting that Sina will now be grading Weibo members on their behavior, using a points system to keep track.

    Users will start out with 80 points, and points can be deducted for disruptive posts. How many points will be deducted for a violation, or what topics and posts could be point-deduction-worthy were not revealed. Presumably, this is intentional, since having no official ruleset for the points means they can be used as an excuse to simply censor users. What is known is that when users hit 60 points they will be issued a warning. Zero points means an account ban. Users can restore their 80-point standing by having no violations for 20 months. Also, Reuters reports that extra points can be earned by users if they give up their anonymity by validating their real-life identity.

    Of course, censorship has never stopped the internet, especially Twitter, from talking. Much the same as French tweeters who were banned from discussing early exit poll results from their country’s presidential elections, Weibo users have been using code words to discuss sensitive political topics.

    (via The New York Times)

  • Anonymous Planning More Attacks On Chinese Web Sites

    We reported a few weeks ago on Anonymous starting up a new operation that targeted Chinese government Web sites. They defaced several of the Web sites, leaked databases and provided links to Chinese citizens that would show them how to bypass the government’s Internet filter.

    From that initial day of hacking, the Anonymous China group has been busy. There have been hacks on an almost constant basis with the last hack and database leak going down yesterday. The attacks aren’t going to stop anytime soon either according to a report from Reuters.

    The attacks are part of a bigger plan according to Anonymous hacker “f0ws3r” who told Reuters that the group is hoping to take down the “Great Firewall of China.” A recent tweet from the Anonymous China Twitter feed confirms the group’s plans.

    Interestingly enough, the hacker speaking to Reuters said the Anonymous China group has about 10 to 12 hackers working with them. It’s not surprising, however, to learn that most of them are not based in China. They claim to have “hundreds” of translators helping them hack Chinese Web sites. This is consistent with the hacks that happened a few weeks ago being displayed in English instead of Chinese.

    As for what Anonymous China is up to next, the hacker told Reuters that they are planning more attacks, but only doing a few at a time. This is consistent with what you see on the Anonymous China Twitter feed that shows two or three attacks happening over a period of a few days.

    As with all stories involving Anonymous, it will continue to develop. We’ll keep you up to date on any new attacks or announcements from the group. It seems they have big plans for China and it will be interesting to see what they do next.

  • Anonymous Takes Down And Defaces Chinese Government Web Sites

    All has been relatively quiet on the Anonymous front as far as defacing Web sites are concerned. That has changed today as Anonymous China has attacked and defaced a number of Chinese government Web sites to protest the country’s censorship of the Internet.

    A newly christened twitter feed for Anonymous China announced the attacks this morning and have been slowly taking down and defacing various government Web sites since. The page is like other defacements with ASCII text, a message to the government in question and other Anonymous trademarks. This defacement is far more entertaining than past hacks, however, because they autoplay The Who’s classic song Baba O’Riley.

    Anonymous has left a message to both the Chinese government and the Chinese people this time. The message is in English, so I don’t know how effective it is to the Chinese people who can’t speak English, but it does have one Chinese phrase, “ζ‚£ιšΎθ§ηœŸζƒ….” According to Google Translate, it means “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

    The message is as follows:

    Hi all !

    Message to Chinese government :

    All these years, the Chinese Communist government has subjected its People to unfair laws and unhealthy processes. Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall. So expect us because we do not forgive, never. What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you.

    With no mercy.

    Nothing will stop us, nor your anger nor your weapons.
    You do not scare us, because you cannot afraid an idea.

    Message to Chinese People :

    Each of you suffers from the tyranny of that regime which knows nothing about you. We are with you.
    With you here and now. But also tomorrow and the coming days so promising for your freedom. We will never give up.

    Don’t loose hope, the revolution begins in the heart.

    The silence of all other countries highlights the lack of democracy and justice in China. It’s unbearable.
    We must all fight for your freedom.

    To add insult to injury, they provide a link on the defaced site that leads to a Web page Anonymous built inside the Chinese government’s Web site that shows Chinese citizens how to bypass state censorship. To be honest, it’s kind of funny and the kind of move we have come to expect from Anonymous.

    As part of the hack, Anonymous has also leaked the account passwords of government workers for meda.gov.cn. Since I can not speak Chinese nor access the site, it’s hard to get a good grip on what sites were attacked. It does seem like the leak comes from one of the more important sites, however, since the sites’s innards posted to Pastebin indicate the site contained government research.

    The Twitter for Anonymous China was started just this morning and has already announced five defaces and one leak. It looks like they’re not done yet either. This is a developing story and we’ll keep you updated throughout the day if there’s any change. China will probably not take the defacements very well so it will be interesting to see what their response is.