China (ip-192.com): Chinas biggest hacker training site has been shut down by the authorities, according to the China Daily newspaper. At least three people have been arrested, and approximately $250,000 in cash has been sized.
The site, called Black Hawk Safety Net, gave lessons in hacking and sold downloads of malicious software. The hacker training operation openly recruited thousands of members online and provided them with cyber attack lessons and Trojan software, the Wuhan Evening News reported. Black Hawk Safety Net recruited more than 12,000 paying subscribers, while another 170,000 people had signed up for free membership.
The authorities seized a number of web servers and other computers, and a car. China's recently created anti-hacking laws making it illegal to attack software and other computer programs.
The Black Hawk Safety Net, established in 2005 and headquartered in Xuchang of the central Henan Province, collected 7 million Yuan ($1.025 Million) in membership fees. Police found clues leading to the net in April 2009, when three people who were caught for disseminating virus and disrupting Internet services in Macheng City admitted they were members of the Black Haw Safety Net, according to English News China.
Hacking is a sensitive topic for China, especially since the internet giant Google threatened to pull out of the country. The hacker industry in China caused estimated losses of 7.6 billion Yuan ($815 Million) last year, according to a report released by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China.
[...] on Google, American enterprises, and government agencies. The attacks (ip-192.com reported here and here) may have begun as early as April 2009, the New York Times [...]