Chinese security experts will reportedly have a tough time in attending the DefCon or BlackHat, with the US government planning to “keep up the pressure,” from the indictment of five Chinese military officials for hacking into 6 corporate computers to steal trade secrets.
A senior administration official told Reuters that US officials are looking at imposing visa restrictions as a measure to prevent Chinese nationals from participating in two popular hacking conferences, in an effort to combat Chinese internet espionage.
The US government’s move of visa restrictions can affect a number of Chinese security experts scheduled to be present at the event, including members of private firm Qihoo 360 and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Conference organizers – Jeff Moss, founder of both the DefCon and Black Hat conferences, and Chris Wysopal, a member of the Black Hat board, said that limiting Chinese participation to be a bad idea.
Moss took it to the Twitter tweeting “First I have heard of it, boarding flight to DC now. I don’t think it helps build positive community. More later.”
DefCon’s official Twitter feed posted a tongue-in-cheek response stating “If you are going to speak at or attend #DEFCON & you need a visa to enter U.S. please contact us for invite letter to help your app.”
US officials are reportedly selecting from a range of retaliatory options if China doesn’t curb its corporate cyber espionage, following the indictment.
Five Chinese nationals – Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui – were charged for alleged cyber espionage on a U.S. nuclear, metal and solar companies. China has denied the charges stating that the US grand jury indictment was “made up” and will “damage trust between the two nations.”
According to the report, the senior official said the US government was frustrated in its attempts to curb Chinese hacking. The official added “We’ve tried to have a constructive dialogue. The State Department and the Defense Department have travelled to China to share evidence of hacking by the (People’s Liberation Army), but those types of interchanges have not sparked a lot of progress or reciprocity.”
