Week 10 – China

According to the cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc., Chinese hackers have attacked US engineering and defense companies linked to the disputed South China Sea.  FireEye Inc., cannot link the attacks to the Chinese government though.

A surge of attacks has picked up in pace last month.  They are focused on US maritime entities that were linked to or have clients that operated in the South China Sea.  The attacked used many techniques including spearphishing, where e-mails with malware were sent. Most were based in the US, though organizations in Europe and at least one located in Hong Kong were affected.  Government offices, media and academic institutions have been attacked.  Engineering and defense companies have also been targeted.

They are looking for information about radar range, a closely a vessel could sail to a geographical feature and how precisely a system in development could detect activity at sea.  Because of the types of organizations that have been targeted, it’s believed the hackers are operating on behalf of a government.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea.  They have built port, runways and other military infrastructure on seven artificial islands they have created.

 

Source:

https://businessmirror.com.ph/china-hackers-hit-us-firms-linked-to-sea-dispute-fireeye/