Chinese Hackers Group Targets German's Critical Sectors

JAKARTADAILY.ID - Reuters reported on Thursday that Chinese hacker group APT 27 has started targeting German companies.

According to a statement from Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on Wednesday, the group, which has been long suspected of launching attacks on Western government agencies, started to target certain critical sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and technology.

In a circular to companies, the BfV also warned that the hackers group may be trying to penetrate both customers' and service providers' networks to infiltrate several companies at once on top of its usual tactics to steal trade secrets and intellectual property.

Previously in its annual constitutional protection report from 2019, the federal office had also pointed out the group's acronym APT 27 is an alias. It suspected that the name is a mere extra facade for a Chinese hacker group also known as the "Emissary Panda." The latter group is believed to be targetting foreign embassies and also critical sectors.

This is not a new accusation for Chinese nationals. Last year, the United States and several of its allies accused China of carrying out a global cyberespionage campaign. China, however, has denied the allegation.

Previously this month, Britain's MI5 issued MPs and peers a warning of Lee's cultivating of British politicians to create a "favorable" political landscape in the UK for China.

This further caused a ruckus after a senior Labour MP, Barry Gardiner, was revealed to have received more than £500,000 from a Chinese agent on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, to which Gardiner responded by claiming that the improper funding channeled through Christine Ching Kui Lee "does not relate to any funding received by my office.”