Category Archives: South China Sea

Chinese spies hop from one hacked government network to another in Asia Pacific, researchers say

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Nearly five years ago, researchers unmasked a Chinese hacking group, pinpointing the unit of the People’s Liberation Army that was allegedly sponsoring it. The so-called Naikon group was key to China’s spying efforts in the South China Sea, targeting government agencies from the Philippines to Vietnam, said the report from companies ThreatConnect and Defense Group Inc. Since then, there has been relatively little public documentation of Naikon as other China-linked groups — including one targeted by a U.S. Department of Justice indictment — have taken the limelight. But on Thursday, analysts with Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point said that Naikon has been far from idle in recent months, trying to hack familiar government targets in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. The espionage campaign, which has also hit state-owned companies in the region, accelerated in the last half of 2019 and into the first quarter of 2020. Naikon […]

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These tiny islands are at the heart of an uncovered Chinese phishing campaign

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Suspected Chinese hackers are behind a phishing campaign apparently aimed at collecting data about Vietnamese government officials amid an ongoing territorial dispute between the two nations, according to new findings. A hacking group known as Pirate Panda, which has possible ties to the Chinese government, is trying to trick Vietnamese government officials into clicking on malicious Microsoft Excel documents attached to emails purportedly detailing festivities for Vietnamese holidays, according to research the threat intelligence firm Anomali shared with CyberScoop. Targeted individuals appear to be located in Da Nang, Vietnam, near a collection of landmasses in the South China Sea known as the Paracel Islands. The area is one of the most hotly contested regions of the South China Sea, with Beijing claiming ownership of much of the waterway. In recent days, Vietnam has said it does not recognize China’s claims over the islands, while China has said that Vietnamese claims […]

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Chinese hacking group resurfaces to spy on U.S. maritime firms

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Researchers say they’ve noticed an uptick in Chinese hacking activity aimed at a mix of U.S. maritime, engineering and defense companies, some of which are commonly linked to the South China Sea territory dispute, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye. The findings reveal how one previously idle and nondescript Chinese hacking group is now returning to the fold: a new cyber-espionage operation has been found collecting confidential information which is relevant to the interests of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). It comes after news reports surfaced that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force was able to easily detect a Chinese nuclear submarine in January while it circled around the disputed islands. That incident resulted in an international controversy. The CPC has been outspoken in recent years about advancing the country’s naval forces as part of a broader push to modernize the military, foreign policy experts say. Dubbed “TEMP.Periscope” by FireEye […]

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Hacktivists expected to move on from vandalizing websites to more dangerous hacks, report states

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Website defacement is increasingly becoming a staple in the toolkit of activists looking to bring attention to their causes online, according to a report from cybersecurity company Trend Micro. This sort of hacktivism has experts worried that the types of hackers behind these seemingly benign attacks will eventually turn to more threatening cybercrime. Website defacement is a form of protest by which hackers take over a domain and replace the usual website with propaganda promoting a particular cause. It’s a protest sign that blocks access to a website that the hackers in most cases see as an enemy to their cause. The Trend Micro report highlights seven geopolitical events and conflicts that have been a major motivator for defacement incidents. They include: Israeli military operations and land occupations in Palestinian territories French magazine Charlie Hebdo publishing a controversial cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in 2o15 border disputes between India and Pakistan Syrian airstrikes […]

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Chinese hackers tried to spy on U.S. think tanks to steal military secrets, CrowdStrike says

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A series of cyberattacks against Western think tanks and nongovernmental organizations appear to be attempts by the Chinese government to gain insight on the military strategies of Western governments, according U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. In a blog post published Wednesday, CrowdStrike said it observed Chinese hackers trying to break into the servers of six different Western organizations in October and November, marking an uptick in cyberattacks originating from China in recent months. CrowdStrike researcher Adam Kozy writes that in the recent attacks, the “adversaries specifically targeted the communications of foreign personnel involved in Chinese economic policy research and the Chinese economy, as well as users with noted expertise in defense, international finance, U.S.-Sino relations, cyber governance, and democratic elections.” CrowdStrike Vice President of Intelligence Adam Meyers told CyberScoop that, given the information the attackers appeared to be after, the efforts were likely coordinated by Beijing. A mix of both U.S. […]

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