china

China is surpassing the U.S. as the world's largest market for active smart devices, according to new data released today.

A year after becoming the fastest-growing market for smart devices, China is expected to account for 246 million active Android and iOS smartphones and tablets at the end of February, compared with 230 million in the U.S., according to mobile analytics firm Flurry. That will reverse January's rankings, in which the U.S. held the top spot with 222 million smart devices compared with China's 221 million.

Flurry, which based its conclusions on the tracking … Read more

An outspoken opponent of censorship in China, Kai-Fu Lee has responded to a ban from social networks in his homeland by inviting his 30 million followers to follow him on Twitter.

Lee, the former chief of Google's China division, was banned from China-based Weibo and a Tencent service for three days after using the microblogging services to complain about state controls over the Internet. It's not clear who ordered the ban, but suspicion has fallen on the government, which heavily limits Internet access inside the country.

"I've been silenced on Sina and Tencent for three days, … Read more

China is the top cyberthreat to the U.S. and has been intensifying attacks on U.S. businesses to identify data that will help the country gain economically, according to a recently obtained national security document.

Over the past five years, the Chinese have focused their efforts on businesses operating in finance, technology, and aerospace, among others, according to the Washington Post, which published information from the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a document that includes data and analysis from all U.S. intelligence agencies. The Post obtained information related to the report from unidentified individuals.

The cyberwar between the U.… Read more

Several U.S. media outlets experienced a massive wave of cyberattacks allegedly coming from the Chinese military over the last few months. While some newspapers have claimed that their networks are now safe, the Wall Street Journal may still be a victim of the online onslaught.

The newspaper's owner Rupert Murdock tweeted today, "Chinese still hacking us, or were over weekend."

Chinese still hacking us, or were over weekend.

The Wall Street Journal confirmed last week that it had been the target of cyberattacks in recent months because of its coverage … Read more

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that the social-networking giant won't "make the kind of sacrifices" necessary to be allowed to work in China and Iran.

In an interview with the The Wall Street Journal published today, Costolo addressed the question of whether Twitter would like to be available in China and Iran by replying that the company is not willing to filter out the kind of politically sensitive material that government officials in those two countries would require in order to be allowed to function there.

Costolo also said a Twitter IPO is "not necessarily inevitable&… Read more

The Obama administration is considering further action after the failure of high-level talks with Chinese officials over cyberattacks against America, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reports that two former U.S. officials say the administration is currently preparing a new National Intelligence Estimate -- a governmental assessment of concerns relating to security -- in order to better understand and analyze the persistence of cyberattacks that come from China.

Once this is complete, it will apparently be possible to better address the security threat, as well as justify actions to defend both the general public and national security.

The … Read more

The Wall Street Journal said today that it's been the target of Chinese hackers stemming from its coverage of China, echoing reports from other news organizations.

Hackers infiltrated the newspaper's computer system through its Beijing bureau in order to monitor the paper's coverage of China, according to the report. Paula Keve, chief spokeswoman for the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, issued a statement that said the hacks "are not an attempt to gain commercial advantage or to misappropriate customer information." The company completed a "network overhaul" on Thursday to increase security.

The … Read more

After a lengthy newspaper investigation on China's prime minister, The New York Times claims, the newspaper's computer systems were infiltrated and attacked by Chinese hackers.

The attacks began four months ago and culminated with hackers stealing the corporate password for every Times employee, according to the paper. The personal computers of 53 of these employees were also broken into and spied on.

The Times discovered the attacks after observing "unusual activity" in its computer system. Security investigators were then able to get into the system and track the hackers' movements, see what the infiltrators were after, … Read more

A gigantic QR code took form in China a couple of days ago. Mission Hills China trumpets the accomplishment with the headline, "World's Largest Golf Club & Spa Resort Creates the World's Biggest QR Code." Sounds like someone is obsessed with being the world's largest.

That headline is a little misleading, though. A Canadian corn maze turned out a 309,570-square-foot QR code last year. What Mission Hills China created is most likely the world's biggest human QR code. It certainly beat out the 1,300 people Taiwan drafted for a promotion event.

The club rounded up 2,000 employees for the massive publicity stunt. They stood in designated spots and opened red and white umbrellas above their heads. Seen from 270 feet above the ground, the formation created a scannable QR code. The code links back to an eco-tourism campaign that lets entrants sign up for a chance to win a holiday at the resort.… Read more