How China’s Cyber Ecosystem Feeds Off Its Superstar Hackers

Tom Uren

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A new report explores how effectively the Chinese state leverages civilian talent for state-sponsored cyber operations.

“From Vegas to Chengdu,” by Eugenio Benincasa from the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich, focuses on the links between Chinese hacking contests and bug bounties and the country’s cyber espionage programs. Interestingly, it finds that People’s Republic of China (PRC) vulnerability discovery efforts in recent years depend highly on just “a handful” of Chinese researchers.

The report pulls together information made public over the past several years to comprehensively summarize evidence the PRC funnels vulnerability research into state-sponsored espionage efforts.

Shortly after 2014, Chinese security researchers began dominating international hacking competitions.