American authorities charged hackers linked to the Chinese government for launching a sweeping, state-backed operation that targeted US officials, journalists, corporations and pro-democracy activists, according to a report by Associated Press.
The US authorities said that the campaign went for 14 years, beginning in 2010.
The campaign targeted critics of the Chinese government, aimed to steal trade secrets of American corporations and spied on and tracked high-level political figures.
Later, the UK and New Zealand government also joined the US government in charging these China-based hackers for launching cyber attacks on UK parliamentarians and its electoral commission and targeting New Zealand’s Parliament in 2021.
Western officials disclosed the operation, carried out by a hacking group known as APT31, while sounding a fresh, election-year alarm about a country long seen as having advanced espionage capabilities. APT31 has previously been accused of targeting US presidential campaigns and the information systems of Finland’s parliament, among others.
The US Justice Department charged seven hackers, all believed to be living in China. The British government, in a related announcement, imposed sanctions on a front company and two of the defendants in connection with a breach that may have given the Chinese access to information on tens of millions of UK voters held by the Electoral Commission.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate efforts by the Chinese government to intimidate Americans who serve the public, silence the dissidents who are protected by American laws, or steal from American businesses,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, adding that the “case serves as a reminder of the ends to which the Chinese government is willing to go to target and intimidate its critics.”
Modus Operandi
The Chinese hackers sent more than 10,000 emails to targets all over the world that purported to be from prominent journalists but that actually contained malicious code, the report by the Associated Press said.
When the victims of the scam opened the email, a tracking software was installed allowing hackers to know the victims’ location, IP addresses and even the devices they used to get email.
The hackers further leveraged that tracking to target home routers and other devices, “including those of high-ranking US government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major US political parties,” the indictment says.
Targets included officials at the White House and multiple government agencies, including the Treasury and Commerce departments, senators from both parties, the spouse of a senior Justice Department official, political strategists, and political figures from around the world who were critical of the Chinese government, including members of a pro-democracy advocacy group.
The Justice Department said the hackers also began targeting email accounts belonging to senior staffers of a presidential campaign in May 2020, several months before the general election.
Also, the cybersecurity firm Proofpoint later noted in a blog, the hackers heavily focused their phishing on Washington-based journalists, including White House correspondents, just prior to the January 6 Capitol Hill riots.
The Chinese embassy accused the US of “jumping to an unwarranted conclusion and making groundless accusations against China” without valid evidence.
“Cybersecurity issues should not be politicised. We hope all parties will stop spreading false information, take a responsible attitude, and work together to maintain peace and security in cyberspace. It is extremely irresponsible and is a complete distortion of facts. China firmly opposes this,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
The UK, meanwhile, summoned the Chinese envoy and New Zealand said that accusing China was a ‘big step’ it was taking against its largest trading partner.
Comments
0 comment