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2012-07-26 08:45:00(Beijing Time) China Daily
Police in South China have detained a gang of hackers they believe are responsible for
attacks on 185 government websites.
Police in Jieyang, Guangdong province, said the case is the biggest of its kind in recent years.
Suspects are accused of invading sites managed by authorities in 30 provinces, municipalities
and autonomous regions to help them to make and sell fake professional certificates.
"The gang tampered with official databases or added links to external databases so that if
anyone checked up on the fake certificates, the client's name would appear," Chen Xiaoping,
head of Jieyang police's cyber crime unit, said at a news conference.
The city's office of personnel and examinations reported an attack on its website on Dec 8,
after finding a link had been illegally added.
This led police to seven suspects selling fake certificates in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and
in Guangdong's Heyuan. This in turn led to the discovery of a network of connected hackers,
certificate forgers, advertisers and personal data collectors scattered across at least 12
provinces.
As of July 12, police had arrested 165 people, confiscated more than 7,100 fake certificates
and at least 10,000 fake seals, and are still hunting for more members of the gang.
The fake certificates were sold at between 4,000 and 10,000 yuan ($626 and $1,565), police
said. The profits generated surpassed 300 million yuan.
Chen said 14 principal suspects were under the age of 30.
The large-scale hacking of government websites has also exposed the huge market for fake
certificates in China. Jieyang police claimed that more than 30,000 people bought fake
qualifications made by the gang, which specialized in certificates including medical care,
financial services and architecture.
2012-07-26 08:45:00(Beijing Time) China Daily
Police in South China have detained a gang of hackers they believe are responsible for
attacks on 185 government websites.
Police in Jieyang, Guangdong province, said the case is the biggest of its kind in recent years.
Suspects are accused of invading sites managed by authorities in 30 provinces, municipalities
and autonomous regions to help them to make and sell fake professional certificates.
"The gang tampered with official databases or added links to external databases so that if
anyone checked up on the fake certificates, the client's name would appear," Chen Xiaoping,
head of Jieyang police's cyber crime unit, said at a news conference.
The city's office of personnel and examinations reported an attack on its website on Dec 8,
after finding a link had been illegally added.
This led police to seven suspects selling fake certificates in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and
in Guangdong's Heyuan. This in turn led to the discovery of a network of connected hackers,
certificate forgers, advertisers and personal data collectors scattered across at least 12
provinces.
As of July 12, police had arrested 165 people, confiscated more than 7,100 fake certificates
and at least 10,000 fake seals, and are still hunting for more members of the gang.
The fake certificates were sold at between 4,000 and 10,000 yuan ($626 and $1,565), police
said. The profits generated surpassed 300 million yuan.
Chen said 14 principal suspects were under the age of 30.
The large-scale hacking of government websites has also exposed the huge market for fake
certificates in China. Jieyang police claimed that more than 30,000 people bought fake
qualifications made by the gang, which specialized in certificates including medical care,
financial services and architecture.
