Leaked Files Show the Secret World of China’s Hackers for Hire
China has increasingly turned to private companies in campaigns to hack foreign governments and control its domestic population.
By Paul Mozur, Keith Bradsher, John Liu and Aaron Krolik
The work is part of a campaign to break into the websites of foreign governments and telecommunications firms.
The materials, which were posted to a public website last week, revealed an eight-year effort to target databases and tap communications in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and elsewhere in Asia. The files also showed a campaign to closely monitor the activities of ethnic minorities in China and online gambling companies. The data included records of apparent correspondence between employees, lists of targets and material showing off cyberattack tools. Three cybersecurity experts interviewed by The New York Times said the documents appeared to be authentic.
Taken together, the files offered a rare look inside the secretive world of China’s state-backed hackers for hire. They illustrated how Chinese law enforcement and its premier spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, have reached beyond their own ranks to tap private-sector talent in a hacking campaign that United States officials say has targeted American companies and government agencies...
The revelations underscore the degree to which China has ignored, or evaded, American and other efforts for more than a decade to limit its extensive hacking operations. And it comes as American officials are warning that the country not only has doubled down, but also has moved from mere espionage to the implantation of malicious code in American critical infrastructure — perhaps to prepare for a day when conflict erupts over Taiwan.
www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/business/china-leaked-files.html
dnyuz.com/2024/02/22/as-china-expands-its-hacking-operations-a-vulnerability-emerges/