Chinese hackers breach Cambodian government ahead of country’s general election

In the run up to Cambodia’s general election on July 29, a hacking group tied to China has been breaking into multiple organizations that share a connection to either the country’s main opposition party, voting process or human rights movement, according to new research and additional analysis provided by U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye. The findings — made possible through a glaring operational security mistake where hackers left their attack servers exposed on the open internet — help illustrate how governments are leaning on cyber-espionage capabilities to learn about foreign elections. FireEye collected this intelligence by directly accessing the attack servers, which weren’t protected with a password. The firm was able to identify breaches through established lines of communication that existed between the servers and victims. The hacking group in question, known as “TEMP.Periscope,” has been tied multiple times to Chinese-linked cyber operations that used a suite of unique tools to […]

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Chinese hackers stole sensitive U.S. Navy submarine plans from contractor

A Chinese intelligence agency was able to successfully hack into a Navy contractor around February, stealing more than a half terabyte worth of highly sensitive documents about U.S. submarine technology and plans. The hackers, according to the Washington Post, employed by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), targeted a Rhode Island-based company that was actively working on a Navy development project known as “Sea Dragon.” The Post reported that the breach was driven by China’s continued mission to challenge the U.S. military’s existing naval superiority, especially as it relates to the hotly contested South China Sea territory. While China has made strides in developing aspects of their navy, the country has lagged in building both anti-submarine technology and a next generation fleet. Based on publicly available information, the Sea Dragon program is part of the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office. It focuses on building a “cost-effective disruptive offensive capability … by […]

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