SAN FRANCISCO, United States — At least six
US states have been targeted by hackers linked to China who exploited
vulnerabilities in web programs, cybersecurity company Mandiant said in a
report.
اضافة اعلان
Notorious
Chinese hacking group APT41 has been
targeting US states in a tenacious and adaptive campaign, according to
Mandiant.
From last May to this February, the group
compromised at least six state government networks by exploiting
vulnerabilities in internet-facing programs including an animal health
reporting app, the report said.
Victims and data targeted by hackers were
“consistent with an espionage operation” Mandiant said, but did not rule out
that the motive could have been money given the group’s “history of
moonlighting for personal financial gain.”
According to Mandiant, APT41 quickly adapted attacks
to take advantage of new computer vulnerabilities that were made public.
For example, within hours of
Apache Foundation
announcing a critical flaw, the hackers began taking advantage of it and
compromised at least two US state governments “as well as their more traditional
targets in the insurance and telecommunications industries,” the Mandiant
report said.
Mandiant researchers described APT41 as highly
resourceful.
“APT41’s recent activity against US state
governments consists of significant new capabilities,” the researchers said.
Beijing said that it “firmly opposes any form of
hacking attacks and cracks down on them in accordance with the law.”
Foreign ministry spokesman
Zhao Lijian told a
regular briefing that authorities would not “encourage, support or condone”
such acts, while charging that the US has been spreading false information
about China.
The global hacking collective has been accused by
US authorities of targeting company servers for ransom, compromising government
networks and spying on Hong Kong activists.
Seven members of the group — including five Chinese
nationals — were charged by the US Department of Justice in late 2020 with
being involved in hacking more than 100 companies around the world.
Targets included computer hardware manufacturers, telecommunications
providers, social media firms, video game companies, non-profit organizations,
universities, think tanks, foreign governments, and pro-democracy politicians,
according to justice officials.
“We assess that
China presents the broadest, most
active, and persistent cyber espionage threat to US government and private
sector networks,” said a threat assessment report released this week by the
office of the US director of national intelligence.
Google announced Tuesday a deal to acquire Mandiant
for about $5.4 billion, one of the tech giant’s biggest purchases ever as it
works to bolster its cloud computing offer.
Mandiant, which helps customers prepare for or deal
with cyberattacks, is expected to join
Google Cloud this year if the
acquisition is approved by regulators.
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