- Joined
- Mar 3, 2021
The latest attacks exploited a vulnerability in a Barracuda Networks email system and targeted foreign ministries in Southeast Asia, other government agencies, trade offices and academic organizations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to Mandiant.
It described the attacks as the biggest cyber espionage campaign known to be conducted by a ”China-nexus threat actor” since a 2021 attack on Microsoft Exchange. That affected tens of thousands of computers.
Mandiant said the email attacks focused on issues that are priorities for China, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. It said the hackers searched for email accounts of people working for governments of political or strategic interest to China at the time they were participating in diplomatic meetings.
Earlier this year, Microsoft said state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises.
apnews.com
It described the attacks as the biggest cyber espionage campaign known to be conducted by a ”China-nexus threat actor” since a 2021 attack on Microsoft Exchange. That affected tens of thousands of computers.
Mandiant said the email attacks focused on issues that are priorities for China, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. It said the hackers searched for email accounts of people working for governments of political or strategic interest to China at the time they were participating in diplomatic meetings.
Earlier this year, Microsoft said state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises.

China calls hacking report 'far-fetched' and accuses the US of targeting the cybersecurity industry
China's government has rejected as “far-fetched and unprofessional” a report by a U.S. security firm that blamed Chinese-linked hackers for attacks on hundreds of public agencies, schools and other targets around the world. A foreign ministry spokesperson repeated accusations Friday that...
