Enemies at The Firewall

In response to questions from TIME, a faxed letter from China's State Council Information Office said accusations that the PLA was involved in hacker attacks against overseas targets were "groundless, irresponsible and also have ulterior motives." The Chinese police, the letter said, had received no requests from overseas governments asking for investigations of Chinese attacks on their websites. But reports in Chinese newspapers suggest that the establishment of a cybermilitia is well under way. In recent years, for example, the military has engaged in nationwide recruiting campaigns to try to discover the nation's most talented hackers. The campaigns are conducted through competitions that feature large cash prizes, with the PLA advertising the challenges in local newspapers.

Tan is a successful graduate of this system. He earned $4,000 in prize money from hacker competitions, enough to make him worthy of a glowing profile in Sichuan University's campus newspaper. Tan told the paper that he was at his happiest "when he succeeds in gaining control of a server" and described a highly organized selection and training process that aspiring cybermilitiamen (no cyberwomen, apparently) undertake. The story details the links between the hackers and the military. "On July 25, 2005," it said, "Sichuan Military Command Communication Department located [Tan] through personal information published online and instructed him to participate in the network attack/defense training organized by the provincial military command, in preparation for the coming Chengdu Military Command Network Attack/Defense Competition in September." (The State Council Information Office didn't respond to questions about Tan, and China's Foreign Ministry denies knowing about him.)

With the help of experts from Sichuan University, the story continued, Tan's team won the competition and then had a month of intense training organized by the provincial military command, simulating attacks, designing hacking tools and drafting network-infiltration strategies. Tan was then chosen to represent the Sichuan Military Command in competition with other provinces. His team won again, after which, the iDefense reports say, he founded the NCPH and acquired an unidentified benefactor ("most likely the PLA") to subsidize the group's activities to the tune of $271 a month.

It's not what you would expect from a bunch of guys drinking beer (lots of it) in the back room of a hotpot restaurant in Chengdu. Suggest that they might hack for cash, and the NCPH crew is outraged. "The real hackers are not doing it for a name or money," says Fisherman, who sports a small diamond-stud earring. "The real hackers keep their heads down, finding network loopholes, write killer programs and live off social security."

Spoken like some grungy geek from Seattle. Except that in China, apparently, the definition of social security might include a stipend from the army.