China

Chinese Cyberattacks Skyrocket in 2012, But What Does it Mean? PC Magazine (Eddy)

April 23, 2013 by Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Each year Verizon releases its Data Breach Investigations Report, which chronicles an entire year’s worth of investigations of the security incidents we know and love. This year, a large uptick in espionage attacks linked to China paints a scary, if somewhat warped, picture.

The report looks at some 47,000 incidents, of which 621 are confirmed data breaches within the past year. In general, most of these 621 attacks were focused on financial institutions (37 percent), were perpetrated by outsiders (92 percent), and exploited weak or broken credentials (read: passwords, 76 percent).

The surprise was the realization that 19 percent of the breaches were attributed to a “state-affiliated actor.” 25 percent had nothing to do with money—that motivator for most cybercrime—and 25 percent were targeted attacks. A truly terrifying 96 percent of the espionage cases were eventually linked to China.

via Chinese Cyberattacks Skyrocket in 2012, But What Does it Mean?.

Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: breaches, China, Chinese, Chinese Cyberattacks Skyrocket, Data, Data Breach Investigations Report, data breaches, espionage, Magazine, money, passwords, past, PC, percent, report, security, Verizon, year

Overseas hackers nab more than 1TB of data daily | CNET News (Dara Kerr)

March 1, 2013 by Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The idea of governments waging futuristic cyberbattles and online espionage campaigns actually isn’t too farfetched. A new study released today by Team Cymru basically says as much.

The study, shared exclusively with The Verge, says that overseas hackers are stealing as much as one terabyte of data per day from governments, businesses, militaries, and academic facilities. Apparently, the hackers are using a network of 500 computer servers.

According to a lengthy article by The Verge, Team Cymru concludes that the hackers are so sophisticated and are running such massive campaigns that they must be state-sponsored. “This is Internet theft on an industrial level,” Team Cymru director Steve Santorelli told The Verge. However, it remains unclear which government, or governments, might be behind the attacks.

Various security experts have been pointing the blame at the Chinese government for the recent slew of cyberattacks on U.S. soil. A report by Mandiant released last week linked China’s People’s Liberation Army to a large number of cyberattacks against U.S. corporations, government agencies, and other organizations. However, the Chinese government has flatly denied that it is involved in cyber-espionage or hacking.

via Overseas hackers nab more than 1TB of data daily | Security & Privacy – CNET News.

Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: Army, China, China People Liberation Army, Chinese, CNET, director, espionage, government, isn, Liberation Army, network, one, security, security privacy, Steve Santorelli, study, Team Cymru, theft, today, week

China blames U.S. for most cyberattacks against military Web sites | CNET News (Lance Whitney)

March 1, 2013 by Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

China has accused the U.S. for most of the cyberattacks launched against its military networks.

In a statement released today, China’s Ministry of National Defense said that cyberattacks against its military sites have increased over the past few years. Based on checks of IP addresses, the Defense Ministry claimed an average of 144,000 cyberattacks per month last year, according to Reuters.

And it fingered the U.S. for almost 63 percent of them.

via China blames U.S. for most cyberattacks against military Web sites | Security & Privacy – CNET News.

Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: China, CNET, Defense, Defense Ministry, IP, Ministry, month, National, past, percent, Reuters, security privacy, statement, today, Web, year

China Hacking Report Raises Alarm at Firms | The Asian Lawyer (Jessica Seah)

February 25, 2013 by Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The blockbuster report on Chinese hacking released last week by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has focused attention on the security of data held by governments and big corporations—and by law firms.

The report linked hacking of 141 entities, mainly in the United States, to a Chinese military unit based in a suburban Shanghai neighborhood. Four of those entities were law firms. Mandiant general counsel Shane McGee declined to name them, but says law firms, which store all kinds of sensitive information for a wide variety of clients, make ideal targets for hackers.

“By targeting large law firms, hackers can obtain information about hundreds or thousands of companies by breaching a single network,” says McGee. “To some extent, it’s a one-stop shop for the attackers.”

The Chinese government has denied the allegations in the Mandiant report as baseless and says China itself has been targeted by hackers apparently based in the United States. Mandiant acknowledges that it does not have absolute proof that the Chinese military is behind what it calls the “Advanced Persistent Threat 1″ hacking attacks, but it says the scale and sophistication of the attacks suggest a state actor and that circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly points to Unit 61398 of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

via China Hacking Report Raises Alarm at Firms.