Michigan Prof Says Chinese "Porn" Filter Allows Remote Control

June 15, 2009 5:43 p.m. EST

Ann Arbor, MI (AHN) - A University of Michigan computer sciences professor says he has found serious flaws in a software program the Chinese government has ordered installed on all computers there that could allows the computer to be taken over remotely.

Dr. J. Alex Halderman, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, said he discovered "serious security vulnerabilities" in software called Green Dam Youth Escort which China has ordered installed on all computers by July 1.

China has said the software will be used to block access to Internet pornography sites. Critics fear the software also will be used to block sites related to controversial topics such as Falun Gong and Tiananmen Square.

Halderman reported that a team at UM was able to hack the software in less than a day. Hackers could then take control of the user's computer to steal personal information, send spam or introduce malicious viruses, he said.

Without fixing the software, Halderman warned that it will "significantly weaken China's computer security." He recommended that Green Dam be immediately uninstalled from all computers.

Rather than uninstall the software, China has ordered the manufacturer, Jinhui Computer System Engineering, to immediately find patches for the problem.

Chinese officials denied Monday that Green Dam would be used to interfere with personal computers, stating that the use of the software was not required.

"The PC makers only need to save the setup files of the program on the hard drives of the computers, or provide CD-ROMs containing the program with their PC packages," an unnamed government official told China Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese government.

Users would have the final say on installing the software, according to the official.

China Daily reported that the software had been downloaded 7.17 million times as of May, and installed on 2.62 million school computers.

At the same time, the newspaper reported that polls conducted by four of China's most popular web sites found that more than 80 percent of those polled said they would not use the software.