Foreign spy conducts cyberattacks against China’s defense, high-tech firm

China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) disclosed a new case on Monday of foreign espionage activities involving the recruitment of a Chinese software developer who provided “technical services.” This spy agency used “poisoned” software to conduct cyberattacks and steal secrets Read More …

Stately Taurus targets the Philippines as tensions flare in the South Pacific

Tensions between China and the Philippines have risen sharply over the past several months. Coinciding with these real-world events, Unit 42 researchers observed three Stately Taurus campaigns during the month of August. These campaigns are assessed to have targeted entities Read More …

Gang says ICBC paid ransom over hack that disrupted US Treasury market

China’s biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, paid a ransom after it was hacked last week, a Lockbit ransomware gang representative said on Monday in a statement which Reuters was unable to independently verify. ICBC, whose U.S. Read More …

U.S. arm of China mega-lender ICBC hit by ransomware attack

The U.S. arm of China’s largest bank said Thursday that it was hit by a ransomware attack, forcing clients to reroute trades and disrupting the U.S. Treasury market. Ransomware attacks typically access vulnerable computer systems and encrypt or steal data, Read More …

Secretary General: Through NATO, we can build a secure cyberspace for all

The Secretary General emphasized that cyber is driving strategic competition and that authoritarian regimes, including China and Russia, are: “challenging our interests, our values and our security.” He said they are: “determined to shape the future of cyberspace in [their] Read More …

Online store exposed millions of Chinese citizen IDs

A security researcher said he discovered millions of Chinese citizen identity numbers spilling online after an e-commerce store left its database exposed to the internet. Viktor Markopoulos, a security researcher working for CloudDefense.ai, said he found the database belonging to Read More …

Tech firms to allow vetting of AI tools

The most advanced technology companies will allow governments to vet their artificial intelligence tools for the first time, Rishi Sunak has announced, as Elon Musk warned the technology could eventually replace all human jobs. Companies including Meta, Google DeepMind and Read More …

Canada bans Chinese app WeChat from government devices

Canada has announced it will ban WeChat on government devices. The Chinese-owned app is sometimes referred to as the “everything app” – like WhatsApp, Facebook, Amazon and Tinder all in one. However Western governments have security concerns about it, mainly Read More …

China crackdown on cyber scams in Southeast Asia nets thousands but leaves networks intact

Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant Read More …

Government-backed actors exploiting WinRAR vulnerability

In recent weeks, Google’s Threat Analysis Group’s (TAG) has observed multiple government-backed hacking groups exploiting the known vulnerability, CVE-2023-38831, in WinRAR, which is a popular file archiver tool for Windows. Cybercrime groups began exploiting the vulnerability in early 2023, when Read More …