Category Archives: Censorship

Has there ever been a country that implemented whitelist-based internet censorship?

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We hear time and time again of countries censoring internet traffic by blocking IP Ranges.

Without getting into the politics of it, let’s take for example China’s Great Firewall. Even though it is not the most oppressive of firewalls, it … Continue reading Has there ever been a country that implemented whitelist-based internet censorship?→

Under tough surveillance, China’s cybercriminals find creative ways to chat

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Think of it as hiding in plain sight. Ninety-nine percent of Chinese cybercriminals communicate over instant messenger apps like QQ and WeChat, according to research from the cybersecurity firm Flashpoint. Both apps are wildly popular in China and almost nowhere else. The apps, which are both owned and operated by the multibillion-dollar Chinese tech giant Tencent, cooperate directly and extensively with expansive government censorship and surveillance. To the outside, it would seem to be a barren and dangerous environment for coordinating criminal enterprises. That doesn’t stop the hackers, though. “You would imagine that people who are engaging in illicit activities would at least make an effort to use a platform that’s not explicitly monitored by the regime, right?” says Jon Condra, Flashpoint’s Director of East Asian Research and Analysis. To beat government surveillance, China’s cybercriminal underground deploy technical, typographic and linguistic tricks that can make tracking them increasingly difficult. In Russia, by stark contrast, Jabber reigns as the messenger […]

The post Under tough surveillance, China’s cybercriminals find creative ways to chat appeared first on Cyberscoop.

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