China discourages its top hackers from sharing exploits with the rest of the world

「If cybersecurity is a battlefield, then loopholes aremunitions」

China』s hackers are renowned for their skills at internationalhacking competitions. But now they』re being told to stay home bythe government because of national security concerns -- and expertssay that could make everyone less secure.

Cybersecurity firm Beijing Chaitin Technology told the South ChinaMorning Post that the government instructed it not to participateanymore, and to instead focus on building 「a more secure cyberspacein China.」

The directive follows similar comments from the CEO of Chineseinternet security company Qihoo 360 who said Chinese securityresearchers 「should remain in China.」

Hacking competitions aren』t just about pride. They play a vitalrole in increasing cybersecurity. White hat hackers -- ethicalhackers -- attend competitions to expose bugs and potentialvulnerabilities in software.

Chinese teams swept the board at last year』s popular Pwn2Own eventin Canada -- with the top five winners hailing from the country,and three of those from Tencent.

This year』s competition has no competitors from China. Instead,Chaitin says it will report any exploits to the government』s ownNational Vulnerability Database of Information Security.

The move has the potential to undermine security for everyone, AdamSegal from the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Councilon Foreign Relations told the South China Morning Post.

「If it is long term, it would weaken global cybersecurity effortsand reinforce the sense that Chinese cyberspace is doing everythingpossible to cut itself off from the rest of the world.」

But one analyst based in China told the newspaper that it madesense for the country to keep sensitive information for itself.

MoreSec』s Wei Xingguo said 「If cybersecurity is a battlefield,then loopholes are munitions.」