Is China waging a cyber war with Taiwan?
Nation-state hacking groups based in China have sharply ramped up cyberattacks against Taiwan this year, according to multiple reports. With geopolitical tensions and a trade war acting as a backdrop, China-led cyberattacks on Taiwan are rising sharply, according to multiple security reports. In the latest report about alleged China-sponsored cyberattacks on Taiwan, Kate Morgan, a…
Chinese APT group ToddyCat launches new cyber-espionage campaigns
Researchers warn of renewed attacks against high-profile organizations launched by a Chinese APT actor known in the industry as ToddyCat. The group has been refining its tactics as well as malware toolset since 2020 when it was originally discovered. In a new report this week, researchers from security firm Check Point Software Technologies documented a…
Chinese Hackers Target Routers in IP Theft Campaign
A Chinese hacking group linked to state authorities in Beijing has upgraded its espionage capabilities to target companies with headquarters in the United States and East Asia, warned an alert from Japanese and American cyber agencies. The latest campaign from BlackTech has targeted networks of regional subsidiaries across government, industrial, technology and defense industrial base…
Chinese APT Uses Fake Messenger Apps to Spy on Android Users
Hackers aligned with Chinese interests are targeting Android users with fake encrypted chat apps Trojanized with espionage capabilities in separate and ongoing campaigns, one active since July 2020 and the other for more than 12 months. Researchers at Eset on Wednesday attributed the campaigns to a threat group tracked as Gref, which overlaps with activity…
China-linked hackers target telecommunication providers in the Middle East
In the first quarter of 2023, SentinelLabs researchers spotted the initial phases of attacks against telecommunication providers in the Middle East. According to the researchers, the activity is part of the Operation Soft Cell that was first reported in June 2019 by Cybereason. At the time, researchers at Cybereason uncovered the long-running espionage campaign tracked…
Google Suspends Chinese App Following Malware Discovery
Google suspended popular budget e-commerce application Pinduoduo from the Play Store after detecting malware on versions of the Chinese app downloadable from other online stores. In a statement on Tuesday, Google said it took action to block the installation of Pinduoduo on Android devices and said it would scan smartphones for malicious versions through its…
Chinese Hackers Targeting Security and Network Appliances
Chinese threat actors are turning security appliances into penetration pathways, forcing firewall maker Fortinet to again attempt to fend off hackers with a patch. Researchers from Mandiant say suspected Beijing hackers it tracks as UNC3886 has been targeting chip-based firewall and virtualization boxes. The group, it said in a Thursday blog post, exploited a now-patched…
China-linked Hackers Targeting Unpatched SonicWall SMA Devices with Malware
A suspecting China-linked hacking campaign has been observed targeting unpatched SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 appliances to drop malware and establish long-term persistence. “The malware has functionality to steal user credentials, provide shell access, and persist through firmware upgrades,” cybersecurity company Mandiant said in a technical report published this week. The Google-owned incident response…
China’s Winnti Group Seen Targeting Governments in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong
Active since at least 2007 and also tracked as APT41, Barium, Blackfly, Double Dragon, Wicked Panda, and Wicked Spider, the Winnti Group is believed to be formed of multiple subgroups engaging in both cyberespionage and financially motivated operations. As part of a campaign ongoing since early August, the threat actor has been deploying various payloads…
New Chinese Cyberespionage Group WIP19 Targets Telcos, IT Service Providers
The activities of this advanced persistent threat (APT), which SentinelOne tracks as WIP19, show overlaps with Operation Shadow Force, but it is unclear whether this is a new iteration of the campaign or the work of a different, more mature adversary using new malware and techniques. Mainly focused on entities in the Middle East and…
