Tag Archive for: calls

China calls hacking report ‘far-fetched’ and accuses the US of targeting the cybersecurity industry

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BEIJING — China’s government on Friday rejected as “far-fetched and unprofessional” a report by a U.S. security firm that blamed Chinese-linked hackers for attacks on hundreds of public agencies, schools and other targets around the world.

A foreign ministry spokesperson repeated accusations that Washington carries out hacking attacks and complained the cybersecurity industry rarely reports on them.

Mandiant’s report came ahead of a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at repairing relations that have been strained by disputes over human rights, security and other irritants. Blinken’s visit was planned earlier this year but was canceled after what the U.S. government said was a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States.

The report said hackers targeted email to engage in “espionage activity in support of the People’s Republic of China.”

“The relevant content is far-fetched and unprofessional,” said the Chinese spokesperson, Wang Wenbin.

“American cybersecurity companies continue to churn out reports on so-called cyberattacks by other countries, which have been reduced to accomplices for the U.S. government’s political smear against other countries,” Wang said.

The latest attacks exploited a vulnerability in a Barracuda Networks email system and targeted foreign ministries in Southeast Asia, other government agencies, trade offices and academic organizations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to Mandiant.

The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park...

The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. Hackers linked to China were likely behind the exploitation of a software security hole in cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks’ email security feature that affected public and private organizations globally, according to an investigation by security firm Mandiant. Credit: AP/Kiichiro Sato

It described the attacks as the biggest cyber espionage campaign known to be conducted by a ”China-nexus threat actor” since a 2021 attack on Microsoft Exchange. That affected tens of thousands of computers.

China is regarded, along with the United States and Russia, as a leader in the development of computer hacking…

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China warns of artificial intelligence risks, calls for beefed-up national security measures

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China’s ruling Communist Party has warned of the risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence while calling for heightened national security measures.

The statement issued after a meeting Tuesday chaired by party leader and President Xi Jinping underscores the tension between the government’s determination to seize global leadership in cutting-edge technology and concerns about the possible social and political harms of such technologies.

It also followed a warning by scientists and tech industry leaders in the U.S., including high-level executives at Microsoft and Google, about the perils that artificial intelligence poses to humankind.

The meeting in Beijing discussed the need for “dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.

“It was stressed at the meeting that the complexity and severity of national security problems faced by our country have increased dramatically. The national security front must build up strategic self-confidence, have enough confidence to secure victory, and be keenly aware of its own strengths and advantages,” Xinhua said.

“We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters and even dangerous storms,” it said.

Xi, who is China’s head of state, commander of the military and chair of the party’s National Security Commission, called at the meeting for “staying keenly aware of the complicated and challenging circumstances facing national security.”

China needs a “new pattern of development with a new security architecture,” Xinhua reported Xi as saying.

China already dedicates vast resources to suppressing any perceived political threats to the party’s dominance, with spending on the police and security personnel exceeding that devoted to the military.

While it relentlessly censors in-person protests and online criticism, citizens have continued to express dissatisfaction with policies, most recently the draconian lockdown measures enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19.

China has been cracking down on its tech sector in an…

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China calls the US an “Empire of Hacking,” citing 2017 Wikileaks files

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Facepalm: The term “Chinese hacker” has become a common saying in pop culture, but it seems the Asian nation has a similar term for the US: the “Empire of Hacking.” The name appears in a new Chinese report that accuses the CIA of using cyberattacks against China and other countries.

As per The Reg, an investigation called “The Matrix” conducted by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center of China and local cybersecurity firm 360 Total Security has been published in a report titled Empire of Hacking: The US Central Intelligence Agency – Part I.

The report claims that investigators examining a number of cyberattacks within China captured and extracted a large number of Trojans, functional plug-ins, and attack platform samples alleged to be closely associated with the CIA, revealing an “empire of hackers” under US control, writes the South China Morning Post.

“These cyberweapons have undergone strict, standardised, and professional software engineering management, which is uniquely followed by the CIA in developing cyberattack weapons,” the report states.

But many of the findings come from old information gleaned from a 2017 series of leaks on the CIA by Wikileaks, codenamed Vault7. It included details of the agency’s global covert hacking program, the malware it used, and dozens of zero-day weaponized exploits against a wide range of US and European company products, including Apple and Android phones, Windows, and smart TVs, which were exploited so their microphones could be used as listening devices.

“They have now covered almost all internet and IoT assets globally, allowing control over foreign networks and theft of important, sensitive data at any time,” the report said. “Targets of these attacks include critical information infrastructure, aerospace, research institutions, oil and petrochemical industries, large internet companies, and government agencies in various countries. These attacks can be traced back to 2011 and have continued until now.”

The report also mentions the CIA’s history of trying to…

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T-MOBILE THE RE CARRIER: ending autopay discount and putting you at risk!

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