Image
loustriker
Against the backdrop of humming computers in the underground lab in Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies, a screen flickered, and the most politically explosive cyber-spy network in the world began to reveal itself.

It was March 6, 12:33 p.m., and Nart Villeneuve was getting frustrated. The 34-year-old international relations student and part-time tech geek had tried everything to track down a piece of malicious software that had infected computers around the world, including those in the offices of the Dalai Lama.

Finally, he turned to the ultimate hacker's tool: He entered some of the code from those infected computers into Google. Just like that, he found one of the cyberspy network's control servers, then another, and another. From that Eureka moment came a flood of information, almost all of it suggesting the ring originated in China.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Politics,   Tech
  2. tags:
    News Politics Tech
  3.     
    |

28 comments // Meet the Canadians who busted GhostNet

  • Ichi
    • 0
      Ichi  
    • This is creepy. But definitely worth debating and looking over. Some computer nerds are saying the code transcripts don't mean anything. Others are saying it does. Which one is it?

    • 2 years ago
  • CalgarC
  • CalgarC
  • cheakywillie
    • 0
      cheakywillie  
    • way to sort it out
      ..the scariest thing about this is not what the hackers stole or how they did it but how the international community will now try to use this incident to monitor even more of the internet traffic...one person even alluded to the fact that its like a bunch of planes flying in the air with no traffic controller..
      ..it is scary but i wonder how far people and governments will try to run with this

    • 2 years ago
  • nursediesel
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  
    • The authorities need to find and procecute these bast**ds. This is serious stuff. these techno-criminals screw up small businesses and ruin multiple families, little guys, not just the big guys.
      I figured China couldn't handle others having super technology and would do this for multiple reasons.
      These are crimes that effect millions of innocent people.
      Throw away the keys when they're locked up. I can't imagine you could trust these perps to touch a computer again.
      I'm thinking about lives here. It's not just PC's hurt by this. Whole health care systems are effected... I guess you can tell this rubs me the wrong way!

    • 2 years ago
  • Mark701
  • uberdeft
  • el_chivo
  • munchie
  • hydrokat
    • 0
      hydrokat  
    • This is a big deal. International espionage charges could be filed. What I see here is the Chinese want information about India/Pakistan. And why not, with the Taliban flexing its muscle in these areas the nukes are what they worry about. The stability of the region and who is doing what. If these guys up in Canada found a Chinese government server, the government is involved. Somewhere, at what level remains to be seen. They will be very cautious to cover their tracks. I believe they will be uncovered, but the other alarming issue is the trojan virus is still growing. Wow, Good story! Kudo's to the Canucks on this one.

    • 2 years ago
  • idealist
  • ipodrulz
  • Mikeysfake1
  • Sexirobot
  • macgarys1
  • Mikeysfake1
  • clarity_kat
    • 0
      clarity_kat  
    • Mikeysfake1:

      Actually that's not true. Yes, macs do a pretty good job at keeping the lil buggers away, but they are not completely free from the danger. Just recently there was a bug targeting them, and in a report from their higher ups they discussed several susceptible areas. Its a constant battle between companies and hackers over access holes.

    • 2 years ago
  • macgarys1
  • iloveravi
  • humanheart
  • Lecti
  • omshaantih
    • 0
      omshaantih  
    • Thank you guys...you are my heros...I wish i can meet them in person i totally dig nerdy computer guys! what part of Canada do they hang out again?

    • 2 years ago
  • vicafri
  • hopesdead
  • pssshhhh
  • Sexirobot
    • 0
      Sexirobot  
    • it seems very likely that the chinese government is behind GhostNet, or maybe thats what the author(s) want the world to think.

    • 2 years ago
  • wildspirit
more from Tech:

top videos