Honker Union
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Honker (simplified Chinese: 红客; traditional Chinese: 紅客; pinyin: hóngkè) is a group known for hacktivism, mainly present in Mainland China. Literally the name means "Red Guest", as compared to the usual Chinese transliteration of hacker (黑客, hēikè, literally Black Guest as in black hat).
The word "Honker" emerged after May 1999, when the United States bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and since then, Honkers formed a Honker Union, whose members combined hacking skills with patriotism and nationalism, and launched a series of attacks on websites in the United States, mostly government-related sites.
The name also suggests that a hacker in red, the color of the Communist party, is in combat with hackers in the dark. In the following years, Honkers remained active in hactivism supporting the Chinese government against what they view as the imperialism of the United States and the militarism of Japan.
The group is currently merged with the Red Hacker Alliance.
http://www.jxsport.org.cn/pinas.htm
SCARBOROUGH SHOALS IS OURS!
Relationship with Chinese government
Although there is no evidence of Chinese government oversights of the group,[1] with the official government stance against cyber crime of any kind,[2] the Honker Union and other freelance Chinese hackers have a complex relationship with the Chinese government.[1] Greg Walton noted in his studies that Chinese government has been able to use the Honker Union as a "proxy force" when Beijing's political goals converge with the group's nationalist sentiment.[1] He also noted instances of members profited off the Chinese government for their skills and the Chinese government recruited members into security and military forces.[1] Finally, Greg Walton pointed out that there are some calls within the group to be officially recognized and integrated into the Chinese government.[1]
Attacks by Honker Union
Tsering Woeser
In May 2008, the Tibetan writer/blogger and political dissident Tsering Woeser, was reported to be under cyber-attack through her Skype and email accounts being impersonated, also her website was hacked. This attack was claimed by Honker Union.[3][4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Walton, Gregory (April 2008). "Year of the Gh0st RAT". World Association of Newspapers. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ "China denies spying allegations". BBC News. March 30, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
- ^ "High-profile Tibetan Writer & Blogger Woeser Under Attack". 27 May 2008.
- ^ "Prominent Tibetan Dissident Blogger Hacked, Impersonated on Skype". Boing Boing. 28 May 2008.