China Shutters Hacker 'Boot Camp'

Black Hawk Safety Net trained thousands of cybercriminals, authorities say

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

February 9, 2010

1 Min Read
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Police in central China have shut down a hacker training operation that openly recruited thousands of members, providing them with cyberattack lessons and malicious software.

According to an Associated Press news report, Police in Hubei province arrested three people suspected of running the Black Hawk Safety Net, which disseminated Website hacking techniques and Trojan software.

Black Hawk Safety Net recruited more than 12,000 paying subscribers and collected more than $1.15 million in membership fees, while another 170,000 people had signed up for free membership, according to the report.

Police seized nine servers, five computers, and a car, and shut down all Websites involved in the case, the AP said. Authorities also froze nearly $300,000 in assets.

The Hubei government refused to comment on Monday.

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