China Content Filtering Software Puts PCs At Risk

Starting July 1st, 2009 all PCs sold in China are to include Internet content filtering and censorship software also known as "Green Dam Youth Escort software." The program works by creating log files of all the sites and pages the user tries to access.

Software Flaws Leave Users Vulnerable

Computer experts discovered a series of software flaws, including unencrypted communications between the company's servers and the software itself. It's suggested that the software is susceptible to large-scale disaster, including hackers that could steal private user information or install malicious software on computers in the network. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

If a hacker used malicious code to control all those PCs, every computer could be used to spam millions or launch attacks on targeted websites. So far there has been no comment from the Jinhui Computer System Engineering, the company that developed the Green Dam Youth Escort software.

Controversial Program Results in Public Outcry

The controversial program has resulted in a public outcry amongst privacy experts, academics, and some Chinese citizens who think tech-savvy users will be able to get around the limitations of the software.

According to the BBC, one blogger was able to show that the software blocked an attempt to visit an adult site when using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but he had no problem accessing the site with Firefox. Others are reporting that the software only runs on Microsoft Windows, not Linux or Mac. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

There were also numerous complaints on a bulletin board run by Jinhui Computer System Engineering -- so many that it was reportedly taken down.

It's believed that at least 3 million computer users are using the software.

Remote Exploit Vulnerabilities

An analysis of the Green Dam Youth Escort software by the University of Michigan found remotely-exploitable vulnerabilities that were reportedly mandated by the Chinese government and any website a user visits can take control of their PC. The software contains serious security vulnerabilities due to programming errors. (Source: umich.edu)

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