U.S. Company Claims China’s Web Blocking Software Contains Pirated Code

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U.S. Company Claims China’s Web Blocking Software Contains Pirated Code

U.S. company, Solid Oak Software of Santa Barbara, is claiming that parts of China’s state sanctioned web blocking software called “Green Dam-Youth Escort” in English have been pirated from the company’s own filtering software.

Early this month, it was reported that Beijing would require that all personal computers sold in the country be preloaded with software that blocks access to websites deemed inappropriate by censors beginning July 1.

The government defended the new rule saying that it was a way of protecting its youth from violent and pornographic websites although critics claim that it only serves to give the government a tighter control of internet censorship in the country.

The California company plans to file an injunction against the Chinese developer who built the software.

“I don’t know how far you can try and reach into China and try to stop stuff like this,” Solid Oak’s founder, Brian Milburn, told the AP. “We’re still trying to assess what they’re doing.”

If the injunction pushes through, PC manufacturers doing business in China will be in a difficult position of trying to follow Chinese law and being accused as an accessory to software piracy.

The company’s claims of stolen programming are supported by a separate report released by University of Michigan researchers. The report found vulnerabilities in the software that could allow hackers to access a PC, moreover the report cited blacklist files copied from Solid Oak’s CyberSitter program from way back 2006. In addition, the Chinese software also accidentally included a file with a 2004 CyberSitter news bulletin.

Inside, the study’s author, assistant professor of electrical engineering J. Alex Halderman, found evidence that the software uses blacklists compiled by CyberSitter, dating back to 2006. An encrypted news bulletin, which dates back to 2004, was also accidentally included, Halderman wrote.

China is one of the largest internet markets in the world with more than 250 million users. The government restricts access to websites it deems offensive although it can only do so at a network level. The blocked sites can still be accessed through proxy servers.

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