Made in China #71: who created WannaCry, the end of anonymity on the Internet and other news

Under the heading “Made in China” collected news from China over the week, which was not included in the main ribbon 4PDA. Announcements, rumors and interesting events in the life of the main supplier of electronic goods in the world. In the new issue you’ll learn about the launch of the largest satellite navigation systems in the world, alleged developers of the virus-the extortioner WannaCry and the end of anonymity on the Chinese Internet.

In China launched the largest satellite-based navigation system

At the end of last month, China launched the largest satellite-based navigation system. According to the Deputy head of the State administration of geodesy and cartography China Lee Vasana, it includes 2 700 base stations satellite navigation, one national and 30 regional data centers and information transfer. He also said that the new system has a higher transmission speed, wider coverage and higher accuracy in comparison with analogues. It is also compatible with other satellite navigation systems, including BeiDou and GPS.

The statement of the administration of State administration of surveying and mapping of China said that the new navigation system will improve traffic management in all settlements, whether large city or small village. With its help it will be possible to determine the exact location of vehicles including ambulances and other services.

In addition, the Chairman of the Committee of the satellite navigation system of China, Wang Li has promised that by 2020 it will be fully formed navigation system BeiDou. By the end of this year on orbit will be displayed from 6 to 8 new satellites, and next year it is planned to launch 18 more.

Virus WannaCry was developed in China

In the middle of last month the world walked virus-extortionist WannaCry, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of infected computers. The victim was hospital in England, a telecommunications company, the Russian “MegaFon”, “Sberbank” and even MIA. Many enterprises due to the infection of their computers were forced to stop production for a few days. In the last issue of “Made in China” we wrotethat Rising Chinese company providing network security to local government, has developed a program to protect computers from all existing and future types of viruses, ransomware, including WannaCry. According to new reports, the virus WannaCry was designed in China.

According to American intelligence, the authors of the WannaCry virus that has infected computers in 150 countries around the world, most likely located in Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore. Forensic linguistic analysis of the virus showed that it was written by a native Chinese-hackers with a southern accent. The report on the website of Flashpoint, which contains a global analysis of business risks, says experts are confident in his conclusion. In earlier reports based on code analysis, it was suggested that the authors of the virus was of North Korean programmers.

In the report of the Flashpoint said that the attackers left a message in the virus in the Chinese language. Based on the Chinese text to manually they have prepared an English version and then translated it into other languages using Google Translator.

“A typo in the article (bang zu (組 組) is bang zhu (幫助), which means “help”) clearly indicates that it was written using the system of typing in Chinese and not translated from another language. In the text there are certain terms which further narrow the geographical location of the authors. One term (libai (禮拜), which translates as “week”) is more common in southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, ” the report says.

Zhang Kefan, Professor of Chinese language at the University Jimei in Xiamen, Fujian province, Flashpoint puts the conclusions into question. He said that the term “libai” is used not only in southern China. Many areas in the North also use this word in communication every day.

“Currently, it is difficult to determine geographical differences in the writing of Chinese, especially among educated people. People with different accents tend to write in very similar styles,” added Zhang Kefan.

Tan Wei, Vice President of the company Rising, has created a tool to combat WannaCry, said the Flashpoint analysis carries useful information, but it is too early to draw any conclusions.

In China earned the equivalent of the package Spring

In July of last year in Russia was adopted the law Spring (the Spring package). That’s two anti-terrorism bill to expand the powers of the state and the tightening of control over the population. In particular, thanks to him, the mobile operators are now required to keep records of phone calls and all correspondence of users, including encrypted and provides it on demand to law enforcement officers. This week, as expected, similar to the cybersecurity act came into force in China. The new bills give the government direct control over the activities of Internet companies operating in the country.

Under the new law, services of instant messages (instant messaging) and other Internet companies now have to require users to register only under their real names and showing personal information. This should significantly reduce the anonymity of users in the network. A violation of this act by service providers threatens them with a fine in the amount of $7 300 to $73 000 with temporary or complete stop of their sites and services, and even license revocation. Users who violate the law and resort to fictional or other data, will be fined an amount from $1 500 to $15 000.

The law also includes a requirement for data localization. This means that companies must store data in China. The statement of the representatives of the government, through the state news Agency Beijing said that this law is aimed at combating the growing threat of cyberterrorists and hackers.

Source: 4pda.ru