Tiananmen Square anniversary and China’s cybercrime tactics to muzzle voices, disrupt economy

The Tiananmen Square anniversary was held on June 4 and the Chinese government left no stone unturned to introduce bitter online censorship to prevent citizens from discussing the issue.

This year, experts, however, highlighted a new trend that the Asian economic superpower is using to muzzle voices of dissent. China mostly used its cyber security tactics covertly. However, a recent revelation related to the activities of a firm named i-Soon showed the way Beijing is now manipulating the art of hacking.

Christopher K. Tong, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote in his article: “As a China expert and open-source researcher, I believe the latest revelations draw the curtain back on a contractor ecosystem in which government officials and commercial operators are increasingly working together.”

He said he feels that Beijing is now outsourcing its cyber operations to a patchwork army of private-sector hackers who offer their services out of a mix of nationalism and profit. 

He wrote: “Critics, dissidents and international groups anticipate an uptick in cyber activity ranging from emails with malicious links to network attacks in the days and weeks leading up to the anniversary.”

What do we know about i-Soon revelation?

Cyber security firm Pinnacle One collaborated with Sentinel Labs recently to unpack the leak of internal files from a firm named I-Soon that contracts with Chinese government security agencies to hack global targets.

According to Sentinel Labs website, the leak of I-Soon’s internal files provided security researchers concrete details revealing the maturing nature of China’s cyber espionage ecosystem.

“The files–including chat logs between hackers offering pilfered data and complaining about poor compensation–showed explicitly how government targeting requirements drive a competitive marketplace of independent contractor hackers-for-hire,” the website said.

Pointing to private hackers and China’s growing motive behind using them, the website said: “As China’s appetite for foreign data and ambitions to become a global cyber power have grown, so has this burgeoning private industry of hackers-for-hire and an associated market for a torrent of stolen information.”

The report showed how  China was using the data and team to target some sectors for intellectual property, scientific information, or competitive intelligence.

At the same time, the other motive behind taking such steps is related to military action for strategic pre-positioning in advance of conflict scenarios.

“Of course, a large effort is also devoted to domestic and overseas political monitoring, control, and repression. We see private actors like I-Soon responding with cyber solutions to meet all of these demand signals,”  Sentinel Labs said.

The Chinese hacking revelation also had a connection to India with reports claiming hackers targeted offices of the Indian government, including the Prime Minister’s Office, and businesses majors like Reliance Industries Limited and Air India, now owned by Tata Group.

Chinese groups operating international cyber scams

Away from the revelation, a Zambian court recently handed over jail terms to 21 Chinese nationals and a Cameroonian citizen for their involvement in cyber crimes in the country.

The victims of the gang were reportedly located in different locations across the globe ranging from  Singapore, Peru to the UAE.

This incident clearly throws light on the Chinese gangs operating in different parts of the world to create disruptions and manipulate innocents for their selfish acts.

Zambia is not the first nation to face the deadly eye of the dragon with Nepal feeling the bitter pinch in 2020 when the Himalayan nation deported 122 Chinese nationals who were arrested for their involvement in cyber crimes.

A look back into newspaper reports and a search across the internet will show these people were arrested on suspicion of using social media to swindle money from rich, single and divorced Chinese women, running an illegal online gambling racket, operating Ponzi scheme and blackmailing the Chinese by hacking their private information from phones and computers.

Returning back to the article written by Christopher K. Tong on the Chinese trend of hiring private hackers, the author summed up the challenge by saying: “With local governments in China struggling to pay for basic services in a weak economy, companies such as i-Soon that support Beijing’s cyber operations face not only political but also financial headwinds. “Despite Beijing’s intention to implement an online crackdown every year on June 4, the cyber forces it employs to do so face their own issues that invite scrutiny and rectification by the Chinese Communist Party.”