Yahoo Finance Chinese Hacking Group Undetected For Decade
A Chinese state-backed hacking group has been stealing information from foreign companies and journalists for more than a decade undetected, it is claimed.
US cybersecurity company FireEye (NasdaqGS: FEYE - news) says the group has even managed to carry out sophisticated attacks on networks which are not connected to the internet.
The details were published in a report on Monday and reveals that the group - known as APT30 - has been operating since 2004.
FireEye's chief technology officer Bryce Boland said he believes China is behind APT30, saying it had stolen information "about journalists, dissidents and political developments in relation to China targeting government and military organisations, and targeting economic sectors of interest to China’s economy".
The victims of the group's attacks have not been named for security reasons but are based in Asia.
The group infected victims' computers by sending emails to their targets from a supposedly trusted source.
Once opened, the emails installed malware called Mysterious Eagle onto the computers which could be controlled and monitored remotely.
The software is written to be operated by Chinese-language users and managed to infiltrate secure networks which are not connected to the internet by infecting USB drives which are transferred between machines.
Mr Boland told the Financial Times: "That shows the sophistication in targeting the more sensitive government networks, and particularly military and non-internet connected networks.
"The capability to attack air-gapped networks is not unique but it is certainly not common."
