Alleged Chinese-hackers accessed thousands of EU diplomatic cables
According
to a report published by the New York Times, alleged China-linked hackers
accessed thousands of sensitive EU diplomatic cables.
The New York Times revealed that
alleged Chinese state-sponsored hackers accessed thousands of sensitive EU
diplomatic cables from the EU’s diplomatic missions around the world.
The hackers carried out
spear-phishing attacks aimed at EU officials in Cyprus to gain access to the
diplomatic communications network.
Many of the cables are weekly
reports from missions around the world, detailing conversations with leaders
and officials.
The content of the cables shows
concerns about how to handle the politics of US President Donald Trump as well
as how to manage diplomatic relationships with China, Russia, and Iran.
“The leak, discovered by
cybersecurity firm Area 1, recalls the publication by Wikileaks of a vast haul
of US State Department cables in 2010, though in the EU case the trove is much
smaller and consists of less secret communications, the NYT reported.” reported
the AFP press.
One of the cables included info on a
meeting with
Chinese President Xi Jinping that was disappointed for
Trump’s trade tactics. Another cable is related to the EU’s diplomatic mission
in Moscow and describes the summit in Helsinki in July between Trump
and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “successful”.
There are detailed reports on the crisis
in Ukraine, including a warning issued in February related to the deployment of
Russian nuclear warheads in Crimea.
According to Area 1, the techniques,
tactics, and procedures observed in the attacks aimed at EU Diplomatic Cables
were similar to the ones associated with China-linked APT groups.
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(SecurityAffairs – Diplomatic Cables, hacking)
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