Behind the veil of Chinese white-hat hackers

White hat hackers on a group meeting of Butian.[Photo provided to People's Daily Online]

According to a 24-year-old Butian hacker with the username U-Shen, black-hat hackers can earn tens of thousands of yuan per day by selling stolen information. They can get in a day a white-hat hacker might hope to earn in a month. Despite the lure of huge profits, however, the young hackers are firm in their convictions.

"Hacking was originally done for the purpose of achieving balance in technology, and to help others … We need to think like hackers but not act like them," Lin said.

"It is easy money, but it's not worth it. You lose everything for one deal. We were repeatedly taught not to cross the line. This is an important rule to protect ourselves," S noted, adding that Butian offers its hackers regular consultations to enhance their awareness of legal boundaries.

In addition, Butian provides around a dozen group activities for hackers on the platform, including vulnerability detection competitions and campus presentations. These activities aim to build closer community bonds and encourage more participation in vulnerabilities detection, according to Yang.

‘Nation of diligence'

All white-hat hackers are gifted, strong thinkers, said the head of Butian, Bai Jian. Meanwhile, many performed poorly in China's test-oriented education system, and few on the platform have made it to university.

S is one of those who gave up formal schooling for his cyber security passion. Upon graduating from a vocational school, S immediately sought a job, and has been working at a Shenzhen-based cyber security company for two years. Another hacker, born after 2000, quit high school to work from home for an Australia-based IT company.

"Because they lack higher education, they usually work for smaller IT companies. It is an embarrassing result for real talents left behind by our current education system," Bai said, adding that some hackers may have weak communication skills, which also makes it harder for them to join bigger enterprises.

But there is hope. This September, Lin is going to the UK to study computer science as an undergraduate. The young hacker also harbors the ambition of starting his own cyber security company upon graduation.

"It is gratifying to see China attaching more significance to cyber security. One key problem is that many websites are set up with minimal or outdated maintenance. This becomes a liability once hackers attack. We should be more proactive in cyber security, rather than responding after the fact. I believe, as a diligent nation, we will see a vulnerability-free cyberspace in the future. I hope to one day be out of a job!" the teenage hacker joked.