By Franz-Stefan Gady
A new report details cyberattacks of a sophisticated group of hackers with alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Today, the U.S. network security company Fire Eye Inc. published a new report (PDF) highlighting the cyber espionage activities of a sophisticated hacker group, labelled APT30 (Advanced Persistent Threat), which has been attacking critical information infrastructure in Southeast Asia and India for almost a decade now, and is allegedly connected to Chinese government entities.
The new report is part of a slowly emerging modus operandi in which cybersecurity firms are time and again trying to highlight alleged government sponsored cyberattacks in order to deter future hacks but also to gain publicity and promote their own business interests (see: “The Axiom Report: Cybersecurity and Its Impact on China-US Relations”).
The attacks of APT 30 began at least a decade ago and concentrated on, “Southeast Asia regional political, economic, and military issues, disputed territories, and topics related to the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party,” the report’s authors said.
The hackers also targeted Indian organizations and furthermore specifically singled out journalists reporting “on issues traditionally considered to be focal points for the Chinese Communist Party’s sense of legitimacy, such as corruption, the economy, and human rights.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat