China Arrests Hackers At Behest of US Government (washingtonpost.com) 74
An anonymous reader writes: For the first time, the Chinese government has arrested a group of hackers at the request of the United States. The hackers are suspected of having "stolen commercial secrets" from companies in the U.S., which were then passed on to Chinese competitors. "The arrests come amid signs of a potential change in the power balance between the U.S. and Chinese governments on commercial cyberespionage, one of the most fraught issues between the two countries. For years, U.S. firms and officials have said Beijing hasn't done enough to crack down on digital larceny." It's a big first step in establishing a functional cybersecurity relationship between the two nations. Now, everyone will be watching to see if China follows up the arrests with prosecution. "A public trial is important not only because that would be consistent with established principles of criminal justice, but because it could discourage other would-be hackers and show that the arrests were not an empty gesture."
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Re:9 out of 10 "Americans" think Columbus (Score:4)
What *is* native? The human species has been migrating extensively between continents since its beginnings. A few thousand years or even tens of thousands of years one way or another is still a drop in the bucket in terms of the ancient age of the species and its predecessors.
To claim that some group or other is "native" - and thus somehow privileged or entitled - because it migrated slightly earlier, or didn't use ships or something silly like that is totally bunk.
Every human being on Earth is a native and deserves full right to where they are. All this crap about celebrating "natives" is a just a form of bigotry and racism, and of one group trying to claim entitlement which they don't deserve.
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So you'll be moving out of your mom's basement?
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We declare ownership of your mom's basement in the name of Slashdot!
Now, where did I put that damned flag?
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"Do you own this land?"
"No. How can you own land?"
I have no idea if the other guy is a racist asshole or not, but I know you're ignorant of history.
In my own State, only a small percent of the land was claimed by locals inhabitants. For the most part, settlers settled anywhere that didn't already somebody living there, and the people living next door usually agreed they had every right to settle on unused land.
This obviously doesn't apply everywhere, but in the majority of cases it does. And there were bran
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Technically we are all African.
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Technically we're all star dust.
I'm part hydrogen you insensitive clod!
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No, you are wholly processed hydrogen.
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Sorry kiddo, thanks for playing! But no, your pedanticism falls on its face. The differentiation you're saying "no" to is that everything that isn't hydrogen is star dust. Pointing out that that means that star dust is processed hydrogen is a "yes," not a "no." That was actually the point. It is that act of "processing" that creates "star dust." *whoosh*
What he said was we're "all" star dust. I was pointing out that the portions of me that are still hydrogen are not star dust. It was a play on the word "all
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Technically we are all insensitive clods.
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In the kingdom of the insensitive clods, the partially-sensate clod is king!
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Once they've been ethnically cleansed, they don't get a vote.
If they start cracking down. (Score:1)
...arrests people without sufficient connections (Score:4, Interesting)
The only people that were arrested were individuals that no longer had enough favor to block the arrest.
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Regardless, lacking evidence to the contrary I'd expect this to be mostly for show. So these hackers may get their trial. And be punished. But not before they've handed over their spoils so that Chinese government and/or manufacturers can put "stolen commercial secrets" to productive use.
Brought to you by the copy-first-ask-questions-later dept.
Principles of criminal justice (Score:3, Insightful)
Someone should pass this on to the US.
*cough* Guantanamo .
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"*cough* Guantanamo"
To name just one.
The number of well documented criminal actions committed by the US government or its representatives, including major war crimes and terrorism, currently and in the last 65 years, is quite surprising for the average American.
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The "war crimes" laws are too vague. But the USA has indeed done lots of highly foolish things regardless of the legal category of the boneheaded actions.
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"*cough* Guantanamo"
To name just one.
That's not even one. Guantanamo Bay holds prisoners of war, not common criminals from the civilian criminal justice system. It is entirely legitimate to hold them without trial, that's the way it works.
The number of well documented criminal actions committed by the US government or its representatives, including major war crimes and terrorism, currently and in the last 65 years, is quite surprising for the average American.
It is quite surprising and infuriating to the average anti-American how many of those claims evaporate like a puff of smoke in the wind or are demonstrated to be molehills decried as mountains when subjected to serious scrutiny in which the standard is the actual law or treaty, or simply the facts, not the
Geneva Convention (Score:1)
"*cough* Guantanamo"
To name just one.
That's not even one. Guantanamo Bay holds prisoners of war, not common criminals from the civilian criminal justice system. It is entirely legitimate to hold them without trial, that's the way it works.
Ever heard about the Geneva Convention?
Here's an excerpt:
Art 103. Judicial investigations relating to a prisoner of war shall be conducted as rapidly as circumstances permit and so that his trial shall take place as soon as possible. A prisoner of war shall not be confined while awaiting trial unless a member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power would be so confined if he were accused of a similar offence, or if it is essential to do so in the interests of national security. In no circumstances shall this confinement exceed three months.
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Ever heard about the Geneva Convention?
Here's an excerpt:.....
I have both heard of it, and have a reasonably good understanding of it. I doubt you would quote that section if you shared that understanding.
That section you quote addresses the issue of prisoners of war who may be charged with offenses while being detained. If a PoW being detained as a participant in a conflict faced a trial over a war crime and was found not guilty that prisoner would continue to be held as a PoW, they wouldn't be released due to being found not guilty of a war crime. Their status as
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My original point was that the US government has, and still does, carry out very unethical and violent 'military' operations world wide.
Moreover, the majority of US citizens are not fully aware of this fact because of reporting biases.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Principles of criminal justice
Someone should pass this on to the US.
*cough* Guantanamo .
I can help you with that "cough" by passing this on to you: Guantanamo Bay is a prisoner of war camp, not part of the civilian criminal justice system. You can hold prisoners of war without trial. That's the way it works. The US is in an armed conflict against Al Qaeda and its associates as authorized by the US Congress in its Authorization for Use of Military Force following 9/11/2001.
That has been covered countless times here and in the media. Is there some special reason why you've got this wrong af
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You don't know what you are talking about. The rules of the armed conflict apply to Al Qaeda, not Chinese Hackers (unless they are part of Al Qaeda). How did you ever come to hold that nonsense?
No, the government cannot "freely" "pick and choose who it applies to." If you want to try to make that silly claim then how do you explain that Guantanamo Bay has never held as many as 800 people in nearly 15 years. How could that be if what you suggest is true?
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Not sure I follow you, but isn't the US not at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for a long time now.
Change in dynamics (Score:3)
This is a change in dynamics. Two big things are going on: (1) Americans are probably being more successful at hacking, and (2) China is developing more IP. Historically, rising nations steal IP rampantly until they are mature and developing their own IP in a serious way, then they begin cracking down. The United States did it with textile technology back in the 1800s.
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Add a (3) China's economy is imploding, and they'll grudgingly accept any American demand except one that puts their one true Party system in jeopardy. Once again, capitalism trumps democracy.
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Oh you didn't, well think for more than 2 seconds in future.
Why does the government even get involved? (Score:1)
Being hacked is a sign that your security is inadequate and most likely your department is being ran by idiots. The only reason the government gets involved is because these same idiots that got hacked want to shift the blame.
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Or blocked by budget or "we don't support that, don't touch it" policies from upgrading or maintaining old systems.
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The OP doesn't believe in human error. He certainly never typed "your department is being ran by idiots."
Past participle, your time is now.
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Yup, get accused of state sponsored hacking, pick out a few undesirables that have protested, arrest them as hackers. Even if they never saw a keyboard. win-win!
First question upon arrest: (Score:2)