232
Asia Overview
prominently in Burma. Burmese Internet caf é owners are required to take screenshots
of Web sites being visited.
65 Other countries, including China and Thailand, require
Internet caf é s to retain patron information and data usage records.
Surveillance has also extended into the mobile realm. The government of India
confronted RIM over access to encrypted messages on BlackBerry devices, presenting
the company with an ultimatum to grant access or face a ban on services.
66 Indonesia
also expressed concern about its inability to monitor BlackBerry communications and
requested that RIM set up local mirror servers to facilitate monitoring.
Some countries have expanded the requirements for Internet users to register with
their real names before gaining access to services. In China, for example, users of some
Web portals, Internet caf é s, and mobile phones are required to present identifi cation
before gaining access.
67 Forum and chat-room users in South Korea have to register
with their real names, a policy that led Google to disable features on the Koreanlanguage version of YouTube to avoid the requirement.
68
Cyber Attacks
Asian countries have also witnessed an increase in cyber attacks targeted at sensitive
time periods, particularly during elections and anniversaries of key events. Burmese
independent media Web sites regularly experience distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks around anniversaries of political protests in the country such as the 2007
Saffron Revolution and the “ 8888 ” student uprising.
69 On October 25, 2010, two weeks
before the fi rst general elections in Burma since 1990, the primary ISP in the country,
MPT, experienced large-scale DDoS attacks that signifi cantly disrupted inbound and
outbound traffi c, rendering the Internet inaccessible.
70 The origin of and motivation
behind the attacks remain unclear, but because of the timing there is speculation that
they may be politically motivated. Controversial news site Malaysia Today reportedly
faced a DDoS attack following published articles exposing government corruption.
71
In Vietnam, Web sites with content related to political reform hosted both within and
outside of the country as well as dissidents in the country are frequently targets of
DDoS attack.
72 For example, in April 2009, coinciding with the 24th anniversary of
the fall of Saigon, the Web site of the Viet Tan, the Vietnam Reform Party, suffered a
large-scale DDoS attack.
73
Asian countries also continue to be primary sites for originating cyber attacks. In
particular, a growing number of attacks have been attributed to sources originating
from China, including targeted malware attacks on human rights groups
74 and media
organizations,
75 and reports of attacks from numerous states such as Australia,
76
Japan,
77 Pakistan,
78 South Korea,
79 the United Kingdom,
80 and the United States.
81
Directly attributing any of these actions to the Chinese government is diffi cult, and
the level of attacks sourced to the country should also be viewed within the context
of China ’ s growing Internet population, which is the biggest in the world.
Asia Overview
prominently in Burma. Burmese Internet caf é owners are required to take screenshots
of Web sites being visited.
65 Other countries, including China and Thailand, require
Internet caf é s to retain patron information and data usage records.
Surveillance has also extended into the mobile realm. The government of India
confronted RIM over access to encrypted messages on BlackBerry devices, presenting
the company with an ultimatum to grant access or face a ban on services.
66 Indonesia
also expressed concern about its inability to monitor BlackBerry communications and
requested that RIM set up local mirror servers to facilitate monitoring.
Some countries have expanded the requirements for Internet users to register with
their real names before gaining access to services. In China, for example, users of some
Web portals, Internet caf é s, and mobile phones are required to present identifi cation
before gaining access.
67 Forum and chat-room users in South Korea have to register
with their real names, a policy that led Google to disable features on the Koreanlanguage version of YouTube to avoid the requirement.
68
Cyber Attacks
Asian countries have also witnessed an increase in cyber attacks targeted at sensitive
time periods, particularly during elections and anniversaries of key events. Burmese
independent media Web sites regularly experience distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks around anniversaries of political protests in the country such as the 2007
Saffron Revolution and the “ 8888 ” student uprising.
69 On October 25, 2010, two weeks
before the fi rst general elections in Burma since 1990, the primary ISP in the country,
MPT, experienced large-scale DDoS attacks that signifi cantly disrupted inbound and
outbound traffi c, rendering the Internet inaccessible.
70 The origin of and motivation
behind the attacks remain unclear, but because of the timing there is speculation that
they may be politically motivated. Controversial news site Malaysia Today reportedly
faced a DDoS attack following published articles exposing government corruption.
71
In Vietnam, Web sites with content related to political reform hosted both within and
outside of the country as well as dissidents in the country are frequently targets of
DDoS attack.
72 For example, in April 2009, coinciding with the 24th anniversary of
the fall of Saigon, the Web site of the Viet Tan, the Vietnam Reform Party, suffered a
large-scale DDoS attack.
73
Asian countries also continue to be primary sites for originating cyber attacks. In
particular, a growing number of attacks have been attributed to sources originating
from China, including targeted malware attacks on human rights groups
74 and media
organizations,
75 and reports of attacks from numerous states such as Australia,
76
Japan,
77 Pakistan,
78 South Korea,
79 the United Kingdom,
80 and the United States.
81
Directly attributing any of these actions to the Chinese government is diffi cult, and
the level of attacks sourced to the country should also be viewed within the context
of China ’ s growing Internet population, which is the biggest in the world.