Subj : New Zealand government claims it also suffered attacks from Chine
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Tue Mar 26 2024 21:15:05

New Zealand government claims it also suffered attacks from Chinese hacking 
groups

Date:
Tue, 26 Mar 2024 21:11:12 +0000

Description:
New Zealand has also suffered cyberattacks against governmental departments, 
and has pointed the finger at China

FULL STORY
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New Zealand has joined the UK in accusing China of sponsoring hacking groups 
in their attempts to steal sensitive information from western nations. 

The country's government has pointed the finger at a group tracked as APT40, 
which has been linked to a breach of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the 
Parliamentary Service in 2021, around the same time that the UK suffered a 
similar attack . 

The United States has charged several people linked to a hacking operation 
that has been ongoing for 14 years and may have affected millions of 
Americans. Western condemnation of Beijing-backed hacking scandals 

In an announcement of the attack suffered by the New Zealand parliamentary 
organizations, attorney-general and minister of defense Judith Collins said 
that the security services had completed a robust technical assessment 
following a compromise of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the 
Parliamentary Service in 2021, and has attributed this activity to a PRC 
state-sponsored group known as APT40. 

Collins continued, stating that New Zealands Government Communications 
Security Bureau (GCSB) and National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), worked with 
the impacted organizations to contain the activity and remove the actor 
shortly after they were able to access the network. 

Australia backed up New Zealands criticism of Chinas involvement in a number 
of cyberattacks that have targeted western national security, with home 
affairs minister Claire ONeill and foreign minister Penny Wong sharing their 
serious concerns about malicious cyber activities by China state-backed 
actors targeting UK democratic institutions and parliamentarians. 

Speaking on the recent spate of accusations against Beijings sponsorship of 
hacking attempts, Don Smith, VP Threat Intelligence, Secureworks Counter 
Threat Unit (CTU), said, Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage is not a new 
threat. The UK and the US have been calling out these covert operations for 
several years now. The purpose of cyber espionage from Chinas point of view, 
is to access information that will advance the Peoples Republic of China 
agenda. 

Over the past couple of years, tired of having their operations rumbled and 
publicly outed, the Chinese have placed a growing emphasis on stealthy 
tradecraft in cyber espionage attacks. This is a change in MO from its 
previous smash and grab reputation but it is viewed by the Chinese as a 
necessary evolution to one, make it harder to get caught and two, make it 
nearly impossible to attribute an attack to them, Smith continued. 

Specifically, this has manifested itself in four key areas: Obfuscated 
networks; Living on the Edge; Living off the Land and Living in the Cloud. 
Combined these tactics make identification of malicious activity harder, but 
more importantly make attribution more complicated." 

Via The Register More from TechRadar Pro Notorious Russian hackers target 
government officials with fake dinner party invites Take a look at our guide 
to the best privacy tools and anonymous browsers These are the best firewalls 
around



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/new-zealand-government-claims-it-also-suffered-a
ttacks-from-chinese-hacking-groups


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