Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom - World Press ...

Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom
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American Internet companies doing business in China should, for starters, acknowledge
the extent of their self-censorship, not hide it or rationalize it or pretend that it is
something other than the intensely unpleasant compromise that it is. Spare us the
tortured and hypocritical justifications. It helps for companies to admit their complicity; to
clarify that all is not as it should be or appears to be; to openly assert their disagreement
with Chinese government policies (if they do, indeed, disagree); and to disclose specifics
about how their content has been altered to avoid displeasing authorities.
US firms also should do everything they reasonably can to protect their Chinese customers
from the surveillance - and worse - of Chinese government authorities. If customer data
and identifying information can be stored outside the firewall, beyond the reach of
Chinese regulators and courts, they should be, even though that may involve greater
costs. While this step does not assure protection of anonymous users (since control of a
company’s license to operate in China gives the government considerable de facto
leverage, quite apart from territorial limits on subpoenas and other legal processes), it is
still meaningful.
If off-shoring of confidential user information is not feasible, companies must take steps to
warn their customers about the risks of using their service. And finally, where warnings
are not possible or go unheeded, companies should force customers to give their real
names when using their web sites - which will, in turn, force users to think carefully about
what they say or do online. Ironically, the barring of anonymity is the surest means of
getting users to appreciate the risks of saying what the government doesn’t want to hear.
Doing business on China’s Internet is a messy, though potentially very lucrative, activity.
Some companies may be so put off by the messiness that they stay away. For most,
however, that is not a viable option. They must learn to be both honest with themselves
and honest with their customers.
The Red Hacker Alliance
and the Year of the Gh0st RAT
Gregory Walton
Asia Editor, Infowar Monitor
I am going to talk about Chinese cyber-espionage directed against non-state actors,
including several of the sponsors of this conference. I had intended to talk about an
entirely different topic, but two weeks ago a targeted malware attack against the World
Association of Newspapers, and the organizers of this conference specifically persuaded
me that this would be a topical subject to address.
My presentation is entitled, “Year of the Gh0st RAT,” and for those who are wondering,
this refers to a Remote Administration Tool that we have seen used in these attacks.
The presentation is divided into two distinct parts. In the first I very briefly outline the