It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
(visit the link for the full news article)
Cybercrime experts have found proof that China hijacked the Internet for 18 minutes last April. China absorbed 15% of the traffic from US military and civilian networks, as well as from other Western countries—a massive chunk. Nobody knows why.
Said Alperovitch: “This is one of the biggest — if not the biggest hijacks — we have ever seen.” And it could happen again, anywhere and anytime. It’s just the way the Internet works, he explained. “What happened to the traffic while it was in China? No one knows.”
The incident involved 15 percent of Internet traffic, he stressed. The amount of data included in all these packets is difficult to calculate. The data could have been stored so it could be examined later, he added. “Imagine the capability and capacity that is built into their networks. I’m not sure there was anyone else in the world who could have taken on that much traffic without breaking a sweat,” Alperovitch said.
China absorbed 15% of the traffic from US military and civilian networks
The telephone giants of the world work on a system based on trust, he explained. Machine-to-machine interfaces send out messages to the Internet informing other service providers that they are the fastest and most efficient way for data packets to travel. For 18 minutes April 8, China Telecom Corp. told many ISPs of the world that its routes were the best paths to send traffic.
For example, a person sending information from Arlington, Va., to the White House in Washington, D.C. — only a few miles away — could have had his data routed through China. Since traffic moves around the world in milliseconds, the computer user would not have noticed the delay.
This happens accidentally a few times per year, Alperovitch said. What set this incident apart from other such mishaps was the fact that China Telecom could manage to absorb this large amount of data and send it back out again without anyone noticing a disruption in service. In previous incidents, the data would have reached a dead end, and users would not have been able to connect.
Originally posted by Jazzyguy
reply to post by WhizPhiz
Explanation is in the article also in the national defense magazine link.
The telephone giants of the world work on a system based on trust, he explained. Machine-to-machine interfaces send out messages to the Internet informing other service providers that they are the fastest and most efficient way for data packets to travel. For 18 minutes April 8, China Telecom Corp. told many ISPs of the world that its routes were the best paths to send traffic.
For example, a person sending information from Arlington, Va., to the White House in Washington, D.C. — only a few miles away — could have had his data routed through China. Since traffic moves around the world in milliseconds, the computer user would not have noticed the delay.
This happens accidentally a few times per year, Alperovitch said. What set this incident apart from other such mishaps was the fact that China Telecom could manage to absorb this large amount of data and send it back out again without anyone noticing a disruption in service. In previous incidents, the data would have reached a dead end, and users would not have been able to connect.
The sentence in bold, that's why it's impressive.
Originally posted by DaMod
A thought occurred to me while reading this. How many people do online banking? If China also hijacked civilian data then in theory they could drain every single one of their accounts.
Just saying.
Originally posted by aching_knuckles
Originally posted by DaMod
A thought occurred to me while reading this. How many people do online banking? If China also hijacked civilian data then in theory they could drain every single one of their accounts.
Just saying.
To what end? They already pretty much own everything in the US as it is. Why go through this criminhal action when they could just call in their trillions in loans?
Also, China more than likely has THOUSANDS of active spies in the United States, plus the fact that most americans are so greedy they will willingly accept bribes, and China doesnt HAVE to do this to get ANYTHING.edit on 17-11-2010 by aching_knuckles because: (no reason given)
I'm going to scream if I read that phrase one more time on ATS...
Just saying.
Originally posted by aching_knuckles
Originally posted by DaMod
A thought occurred to me while reading this. How many people do online banking? If China also hijacked civilian data then in theory they could drain every single one of their accounts.
Just saying.
To what end? They already pretty much own everything in the US as it is. Why go through this criminhal action when they could just call in their trillions in loans?
Also, China more than likely has THOUSANDS of active spies in the United States, plus the fact that most americans are so greedy they will willingly accept bribes, and China doesnt HAVE to do this to get ANYTHING.edit on 17-11-2010 by aching_knuckles because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by WhizPhiz
reply to post by Jazzyguy
China absorbed 15% of the traffic from US military and civilian networks
How? I don't understand the technical aspect of how this was achieved...what do they mean "absorbed" or "hijacked"? How can China "hijack" my connection unless I visit a Chinese website or something? Or they "hacked" 15% of the world? This doesn't really make much sense to me...more clarification is needed.
Originally posted by HollowJacket
reply to post by Pervius
Im pretty sure there is a military intranet that is exclusive to government/military purposes...that is unable to be accessed by regular users of the internet so I dont think they got anything REALLY important.
So networks included office of the secretary of defense, all the armed services, a number of intelligence networks, a number of civilian government networks as well. Up to 172 countries were actually impacted by this hijack.