AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Sunday 29th March

A screenshot of the GhostNet report released by the Information Warfare Monitor group in Canada. (Suman Srinivasan/Epoch Times)

In this bulletin …

- Vast China-based cyberspy network uncovered;
- Jakarta dam death toll continues to rise; and
- Japan prepares for North Korean missile.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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An electronic spynet based in China has been uncovered by researchers from the Information Warfare Monitor in Canada The Epoch Times reports.

A request by the Office of the Dalai Lama to check for malware and malicious software started an investigation which found infected computers that gave e-spies control and access to potentially sensitive information.

Although the investigation clearly uncovered a network of over 1,295 infected computers in 103 countries, researchers say from the evidence at hand, it is not yet clear whether the stolen information was ever used for commercial or intelligence value.

30 per cent of the spy controlled computers were considered high value targets located in embassies, ministries of foreign affairs, NGO’s and news media offices.

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Some of the world’s biggest investment fund executives are finding China real estate risky and unattractive, according to the Wall Street Journal.

They also say it is illiquid and poorly developed which they find is making investors take their money elsewhere.

Beijing local officials claimed to have relaxed some measures and at the Real Estate Investment World China 2009 conference, they pledged foreign investors would have easy access to their cities and highlighted tentative signs of stability in prices.

However, the investors weren’t buying it, as abundant scepticism remained. The conference drew about 280 attendees this year, down from last year’s 400.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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The death toll from Friday’s dam disaster in Jakarta, Indonesia, has reached 97 as seven more bodies were discovered on Sunday. There are still over 100 missing.

Rescue officials say most of the bodies have been claimed and no mass burial is planned.

The failure of the dam – built in the 1930s – destroyed schools, 319 homes, and part of a university campus.

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Japan prepares to possibly shoot down a North Korean rocket and is moving Patriot guided missiles to the country’s north-east.

There are spy satellite images that have confirmed the North Korean communist regime has placed a missile on the launch pad. It is unclear whether the rocket is carrying a satellite or a warhead, reports ABC News.

Although Pyongyang insists that the rocket is carrying a communications satellite, the U.S., Japan and South Korea suspect it is a test of long-range missile technology

A Tokyo newspaper reports Japanese government officials say North Korea also plans to fire another missile shortly after the launch.