- Honker Union
Honker (zh-stp|s=红客|t=紅客|p=hóngkè) is a group known for
hacktivism , mainly present inMainland China . Literally the name means "Red Guest", as compared to the usual Chinesetransliteration of hacker (黑客, hēikè, literally "Black Guest" as inblack 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 withpatriotism andnationalism , and launched a series of attacks on websites in theUnited 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 the so-called imperialism of the United States and the supposed militarism of Japan.Media coverage
While Honker Union is not directly related to
Hong Kong , the fact that Honker can also meanHongkongers has caused some confusion in the media. In January 2003, the "worm"SQL Slammer appeared in the Internet. Asproof of concept exploit code for the SQL Server bug utilised by SQL Slammer, written byDavid Litchfield , was found in the Honker Union website, it was speculated that the worm was spread by Honker Union. TheAssociated Press misstated that Honker might be a Hong Kong hacking group, possibly due to aforementioned naming confusion. Though it was a mistake, Honker Union since then has been falsely connected to Hong Kong in many other documents.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 herSkype and email accounts being impersonated, also [http://woeser.middle-way.net/ her website] hacked. This attack was claimed by Honker Union. cite web
title=High-profile Tibetan Writer & Blogger Woeser Under Attack
date=27 May 2008
url=http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/2008/05/27/high-profile-tibetan-dissident-writer-blogger-under-attack/] cite web
title=Prominent Tibetan Dissident Blogger Hacked, Impersonated on Skype
date=28 May 2008
url=http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/28/prominent-tibetan-di.html
publisher=Boing Boing ]
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