Industry News Home More stories like this... RSS Feed

Chinese computers 'could turn into one giant botnet'

Hackers could potentially take over every single personal computer in China as a result of newly-identified software flaws, it has been claimed.

The national government has stressed that its Green Dam Youth Escort software, which is compulsory for all PC users, will help the development of the Chinese internet sector by protecting computers from hackers and computer viruses.

However, researchers working at Harvard University have now claimed to have identified a major flaw in the software that could leave the door open to criminals and lead to a "large-scale disaster".

Isaac Mao, who works as a research fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, explained that a lack of encryption between the software and the programme developers could allow hackers to place malware on millions of computers and steal the information of their users.

"Then you have every computer in China potentially as part of a botnet," his colleague at the US university, Colin Maclay, added to the BBC.

From the start of July, all computers shipped into China must be fitted with special anti-pornography software, the government recently announced.

PC Tools malware protection removes, blocks and prevents unknown threats from entering your PC. Visit www.pctools.com to upgrade your protection