ITinfo: Great Firewall of China Under Attack

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Great Firewall of China Under Attack

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

The tough Chinese state-run censorship net dubbed the "great firewall of china" is in the crosshairs of foreign radio and websites who want to get their information into the ears and eyes of Chinese nationals.

The U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau, which runs radio stations such as Voice of America (VOA) may be accessible to the millions of Chinese who want to again surf the net anonymously and receive VOA broadcasts. Since 1989 China's communist leaders have jammed Mandarin language and other broadcasts by VOA. Access to VOA's website has been blocked since 1997.

The U.S. agency is supporting action to again open Internet access to all Chinese. One company, SafeWeb, allows users to surf the web anonymously. Although SafeWeb's site is now being blocked by Chinese authorities, the company has responded by developing a new application, Triangle Boy, that will again open the doors to secure and anonymous web surfing for Chinese residents.

Using a combination of encryption and dynamic IP addresses, Triangle Boy confuses the government firewalls and allows prohibited traffic to pass unimpeded.

Dave's Opinion

For those who support unimpeded access to the net, Triangle Boy may seem like a golden hammer. However, what about companies that prohibit access to off-color websites in an effort to maintain a work environment free from racial or sexual harassment? Products like Triangle Boy that skirt security firewalls will be a major concern for IS managers.

Call for Comments

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References

Voice of America
SafeWeb
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updated August 31, 2001
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2001/it010831.html