<div><p>SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has closed what it claims to be the largest hacker training website in the country and arrested three of its members, domestic media reported on Monday.</p><p>The "Black Hawk Safety Net" website taught hacking techniques and provided malicious software downloads for its 12,000 members in exchange for a fee, the Wuhan Evening News newspaper reported this weekend, citing police in Huanggang, just east of Wuhan.</p><p>Hacking from China has received international attention since Google Inc threatened to quit China last month after a serious hacking attempt originating from China, resulting in the theft of its intellectual property.</p><p>China has denied involvement in the hacking episode and said it does not condone hacking.</p><p>The website was shut in late November and three of its members arrested on suspicion of criminal activity, the newspaper reported, without saying why the news was only released now.</p><p>Wuhan happens to be home to the Communication Command Academy, which trains hackers, according to U.S. congressional testimony by cyber expert James Mulvenon in 2008.</p><p>The popularity of hacking in China, and hackers' use of multiple addresses and servers, in Taiwan and elsewhere, makes it hard to prove how or by whom they are coordinated.</p><p>Would-be hackers in China do not have to look far to figure out how to do it, thanks to a healthy hacking industry and sites such as Black Hawk Safety Net (www.3800hk.com), which was unavailable on Monday.</p><p>(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Lucy Hornby)</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68669685&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2010  <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance">Reuters US Online Report Internet News</a></div></div>