Chinese Cyber Tool Poses Risks for Chinese Firms

China has long censored the internet with its so-called “Great Firewall.” But now researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Toronto say Beijing is employing a new method that has the capability to attack websites hosted on servers located abroad.

Security experts have dubbed the censorship tool the "Great Cannon," and say China can now redirect traffic intended for Chinese websites to whatever sites the authorities choose. That can overload sites with an enormous number of hits, temporarily disabling them.

“So the Great firewall can stop information from getting through to Chinese citizens, [but] the Great Cannon allows the Chinese government to go and attack the websites that Chinese people are trying to access,” said Ben Fitzgerald, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Read the full article at Voice of America.