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The making of China’s digital power: from patriotic hackers to cyber capability

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Description

Total length of the course: 1-2 hours

China’s vast cyber capability grew from the ground up, shaped by patriotic hacker groups, grassroots talent, and a gradual process of institutional absorption that few outsiders have mapped in detail. In this course, trace that story from China’s earliest online communities and the Red Hacker groups of the 1990s through to the sophisticated, state-integrated ecosystem of today. The course explores how talent is spotted, developed, and funnelled through hacking competitions, bug bounty programs, vulnerability pipelines, and private contractors into the service of state-sponsored operations.

Content details

Origins and evolution of China's hacker ecosystem
Introduction
China goes online
Cyber patriotic wars
Most prominent red hacker groups
Hacker communities hierarchy and demographics
Motivations of Chinese hackers
Talent development
Offensive tooling development and vulnerability research
Talent spotting and assessment (1990s-2000s)
Red 40
Hacktivists turned professionals
Where are they now and the new school ecosystem
Institutionalisation and operationalisation of cyber capability
Introduction
Training grounds: hacking contests and CTF contests
Training grounds: cyber ranges
Bug hunting: exploit contests
Bug hunting: bounties
Cyber operations ecosystem: I-Soon leaks
Cyber operations ecosystem: weaponising software vulnerabilities
Cyber operations ecosystem: front companies vs real businesses
Ecosystem today
Additional Information
References