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The Rise of China's Hacking Culture: Defining Chinese Hackers California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations Office of aduateGr Studies 6-2016 The Rise of China's Hacking Culture: Defining Chinese Hackers William Howlett IV California State University - San Bernardino Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, International Relations Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Science and Technology Studies Commons Recommended Citation Howlett, William IV, "The Rise of China's Hacking Culture: Defining Chinese Hackers" (2016). Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations. 383. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/383 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Office of aduateGr Studies at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RISE OF CHINA’S HACKING CULTURE DEFINING CHINESE HACKERS A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Social Sciences and Globalization by William Sedgwick Howlett June 2016 THE RISE OF CHINA’S HACKING CULTURE DEFINING CHINESE HACKERS A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino by William Sedgwick Howlett June 2016 Approved by: Cherstin Lyon, Committee Chair, Social Sciences and Globalization Jeremy Murray, Committee Member, History Jose Munoz, Committee Member, Sociology © 2016 William Sedgwick Howlett ABSTRACT China has been home to some of the most prominent hackers and hacker groups of the global community throughout the last decade. In the last ten years, countless attacks globally have been linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or those operating within the PRC. This exploration attempts to investigate the story, ideology, institutions, actions, and motivations of the Chinese hackers collectively, as sub-groups, and as individuals. I will do this using sources ranging from basic news coverage, interviews with experts and industry veterans, secondary reportage, leaked documents from government and private sources, government white papers, legal codes, blogs and microblogs, a wide array of materials from the darker corners of the online world, and many other materials. The work will begin to sketch for the reader some of the general and specific aspects of the shadowy world of cybercrime and hacker culture in China in recent years. One of the most prevalent beliefs is that the Chinese government is in fact the one responsible, whether directly or by sponsor, for cyber-attacks on foreign systems. My careful analysis has revealed is not always the case, or at least more complex than simply labeling the group as a state actor. At the root of these attacks is a social movement of "hacktivists," a patriotic sub-culture of Chinese hackers. It is incorrect to allege that all attacks are performed by state-sponsored individuals or groups, because there are many individuals and groups that are motivated by other factors. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Statement of Purpose ....................................................................... 2 Methodologies .................................................................................. 14 Goal of Research .............................................................................. 17 Limitations of the Study ..................................................................... 18 CHAPTER ONE: SHAPING THE FOUNDATIONS ..................................... 28 The Fight for Democracy .................................................................. 31 China and the Internet ...................................................................... 34 Golden Shield Project (The Great Firewall of China) ........................ 38 Netizen Movement ............................................................................ 41 Nationalism ....................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER TWO: WHAT DEFINES HACKER CULTURE? .......................... 54 Responses to Cyber-attacks ............................................................. 60 Who Are These Hackers? ................................................................. 65 CHAPTER THREE: THE EVOLUTION OF CHINESE HACKERS ………… 72 1998- The Birth of Chinese Hacking .................................................. 74 Tools of the Trade .............................................................................. 78 Hacker War: US-China ...................................................................... 82 CHAPTER FOUR: INDEPENDENT ACTORS……………………………….. 86 Honker Union (1999/2001-Present) ................................................... 87 Red Hacker Alliance (1998-Present) ................................................. 93 China Eagle and Wan Tao (2000-Dissolved) ..................................... 94 iv Javaphile and Coolswallow (2000-2008) ........................................... 96 Network Crack Program Hacker (NCPH) and Wicked Rose .............. 98 CHAPTER FIVE: STATE-SPONSORED GROUPS .................................... 102 The Science of Military Strategy and the Role of the Party ............... 104 PLA Unit 61398: Advanced Persistent Threat 1 ................................ 108 Operation Shady Rat (2006-2010) .................................................... 113 Operation Aurora (2009-2010) .......................................................... 115 Deep Panda (2011-2015) ................................................................. 117 Operation Poisoned Hurricane (2014) .............................................. 119 Emissary Panda (2015-Present) ....................................................... 120 Wekby (2015) ................................................................................... 122 CHAPTER SIX: FREELANCE ACTORS, THE GREY AREA ....................... 124 Yujun Yumin ..................................................................................... 127 GhostNet (2006-2009) ...................................................................... 129 Hidden Lynx (2009-2012?) ............................................................... 130 Black Vine (2012-2014) .................................................................... 131 CHAPTER SEVEN: CYBER-CRIME AND THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY .....132 A Borderless Crime ........................................................................... 133 Creation of International Laws .......................................................... 134 REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 141 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Common Types of Hacking Attacks… ............................................... 59 Table 2. Chronological Timeline of Significant Hacker Attacks from China .. 81 Table 3. Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China………...103 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Anonymous Video Screenshot and Logo ...................................... 26 Figure 2. Operation Payback Message ........................................................ 27 Figure 3. HRW.org Censorship ..................................................................... 41 Figure 4. Nationalism: An International Comparison .................................... 48 Figure 5. Advanced Persistent Threat Lifestyle ............................................ 58 Figure 6. Types of Cyber Crime Attacks in 2015 .......................................... 61 Figure 7. Types of Attacks in December 2013 .............................................. 62 Figure 8. Targeted Systems and Motivations in 2013 ................................... 64 Figure 9. November 2013 Attacks ................................................................ 65 Figure 10. Honker Union Attacks on Iranian Sites ........................................ 90 Figure 11. Message From Javaphile After Taiwan Attack ............................ 97 Figure 12. Wicked Rose, Leader of NCPH ................................................... 100 Figure 13. The Hacker Studio ....................................................................... 101 Figure 14. Unit 61398 Activity ....................................................................... 109 Figure 15. Cyber-Attacks Performed by APT1.............................................. 110 Figure 16. Shady Rat Phishing Attack .......................................................... 115 Figure 17. FBI Alert for Deep Panda ............................................................ 118 Figure 18. Logo and Calling Card for Deep Panda ....................................... 119 Figure 19. Emissary Panda Attacks 2015 ..................................................... 121 Figure 20. Wekby Phishing Attack ................................................................ 123 vii INTRODUCTION There is an innovative frontier of
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