By Benjamin David Baker
Chinese cyber spies have taken an interest in Norway. What gives?
All states spy. Stealing corporate secrets and understanding what other governments are thinking and planning have often been important methods for states to get ahead of their competitors.
This May, the cyber-security company FireEye released a report [PDF] on cyber-espionage aimed at the Nordic states. Some of the report’s key findings were hardly surprising. Russia and China were the two states from which most cyber-attacks originated. Defense/aerospace, energy and high-tech communications are the industries which have been the most targeted by cyber intrusions from these two states. Considering the Nordic states’ advanced, often niche, research and development within these sectors, that’s not surprising.
However, there was also quite a lot of activity aimed at acquiring classified government and military memos and emails. While this is to be expected from Russia, considering its position vis-à-vis NATO (of which four out of the five Nordic states are members, Sweden being the exception), it’s interesting that Beijing is showing an interest in a region from which it is so far removed.
Read the full story at The Diplomat