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Chinese Cyber-Espionage Group Hacked Government Data Center (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

Catalin Cimpanu, writing for BleepingComputer: A Chinese-linked cyber-espionage unit has hacked a data center belonging to a Central Asian country and has embedded malicious code on government sites. The hack of the data center happened sometime in mid-November 2017, according to a report published by Kaspersky Lab earlier this week. Experts assigned the codename of LuckyMouse to the group behind this hack, but they later realized the attackers were an older Chinese threat actor known under various names in the reports of other cyber-security firms, such as Emissary Panda, APT27, Threat Group 3390, Bronze Union, ZipToken, and Iron Tiger.

36 comments

  1. What's so special about this? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

    If msmash had actually RTFA, she might have noticed (emphasis added):

    Another detail that also stood out was that LuckyMouse appears to have hacked a MikroTik router to host the command and control server of the HyperBro RAT. Attackers would use this router to control and retrieve data from infected victims, putting an additional layer of anonymity between them, victims, and forensic investigators.

    This is not the first time that nation-state hackers have used routers as part of their attack infrastructure, this being a very popular trend recently (let's not forget VPNFilter), but it is the first time they hosted a C&C server on one.

    Have a great weekend!

    --Z.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    1. Re:What's so special about this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am with you bro!

      Apart from the creimer threads that are sometimes funny, there is less and less interesting articles posted on Slashdot.

      To make our mea culpa, maybe the submissions suck so msmash doesn't have much choice. We must remember that Slashdot articles are powered by submissions.

      Let's pretend that the problem is due to the lack of interesting submissions then; is this a sign of a more global problem?

      Maybe it is, if you watch things on a global scale, you might come to the conclusion that the lack of interesting articles on Slashdot is just an effect of how things are going and that it isn't related to Slashdot per se.

      Anyway the title was:
      "Chinese Cyber-Espionage Group Hacked Government Data Center"

      How about:
      "Government Data Center fails to apply cyber-security"
      ?

      Cheers,

    2. Re:What's so special about this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So let's get this straight, you notice something that someone didn't, brag about it, and somehow you think you're going to come out of this looking like a non-asshole somehow despite all evidence to the contrary? Gee you're dumb lol.

    3. Re:What's so special about this? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 0

      WTF?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    4. Re:What's so special about this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be new here.

    5. Re:What's so special about this? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      This is not the first time that nation-state hackers have used routers as part of their attack infrastructure, this being a very popular trend recently

      Probably because Cisco stuff has garbage security.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re: What's so special about this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, what government was hacked? What country/countries? It's not clear from the article.
      Does slashdot only publish for the US public?

  2. no, it was the Russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Putin's hackers are just using compromised Chinese computers to launch their attacks from.

    1. Re: no, it was the Russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha ha, was just thinking it makes a change from the Russians but maybe you're right.

    2. Re:no, it was the Russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, it was an attempt to get that delicious, human rated space technology information from the glorious state Kazakhstan. They are apparently very worried about espionage in Baikonur.

  3. This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This makes the US Government look bad.

    1. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      What does this have to do with the US?

      I know I'm in the doghouse for actually RTFA, but did you even RTFS?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    2. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Desler · · Score: 1

      How so? This involves China and some other Asian countries.

    3. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TDS

      Understand it. Recognize it. Ignore it.

    4. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TDS also encompasses rooting for America's failure, placing blame on America, etc. as a way to indirectly attack Trump by reflecting America's failures onto him.

      See also Bill Maher rooting for a recession or liberals rooting for nuclear war with NK purely and explicitly because they don't want Trump to get credit for doing something good.

    5. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Someone said something stupid and inexplicable, you demanded an explanation, and I gave a plausible - and probable, judging by the army of Trump-haters infesting this place daily - one.

      The fact that Trump and America are completely unrelated to the actual story is sort of the entire point.

    6. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From here it's pretty clear that you're trying to force your agenda.

      Only a Trumptard sees anti-Trump statements where there are none to be found.

    7. Re:This doesn't make Chinese Gov look bad. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you just tried to drag the discussion off on a complete tangent, and when called out on your bullshit, you/sockpuppet hauled out the -1, Troll mods.

      I hope that made you feel better about yourself, your complete lack of intellectual or any other sort of integrity, and your lower-than-a-snake's-belly cowardice.

  4. Trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Itâ(TM)s time for Trump to sack up and suspend all trade with China.

    1. Re:Trump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely. That will financially ruin most of the MAGAtard farmers who voted for him.

  5. In other news by Kargan · · Score: 1

    Water is wet.

    --
    Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
    1. Re: In other news by TimMD909 · · Score: 1

      That's not very inclusive. Other things are wet. Do you need re-education?

    2. Re: In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pussy is wet?

  6. Yeah? So what? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    Likewise, we all breathed today. IOW, these ppl are doing what they should be.
    OTOH, China also remains the largest polluter and growing fast. Time for them to stop adding new coal plants.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:Yeah? So what? by CaffeinatedBacon · · Score: 1

      China still uses less coal electricity than America per person, along with less natural gas, and way less oil. Face it Windy, Americans use much more fossil fuels than Chinese people. It just looks like you are greener because there are less than a quarter as many of you.

      CO2 per person America is still at the very top.

      You should be focused on bringing America down to more sustainable levels, not blaming China for slowly catching up to you.

  7. Except America is far worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China is bigger, that's all. America is biggest in the only measure that counts.

    1. Re:Except America is far worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "America is biggest in the only measure that counts."
      From a male perspective would that be the US has "bigger dicks"?

      And the article mentioned it was a Central Asian country that got hacked. I guess China would fall into that category so maybe they thought they were actually updating their own routers?

      And has anyone noticed that the malicious hackers are always 3 steps ahead of the supposedly "security experts"? Maybe the experts spend half their time creating the hacks and spends the other half on uncovering them. It would allow them to make money on both ends. Of course they do not uncover the hacks until after the damage is done.

  8. Kaspersky, lol? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

    MAGA

  9. Clearer titles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know the title is the original title by Bleepingcomputer, but can't they be a little be more clear as to which Government Data Center they hacked? Did they hack their own China government's center? Or was it the US?

    "Chinese Cyber-Espionage Group Hacked Government Data Center"

    Assuming that it's the US that they hacked, they should be aware that US isn't the only country in the world.

  10. Re:It's simple. by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Canada shows the world its powerful new MCM/70 tech. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  11. Why would the evil Putin-controlled Kaspersky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    reveal this? I guess they're lying to us, while selling virus-infected antivirus software!

    Sorry, the whole article is bogus.

  12. Re: Republicucks can go die in a fire!! Fags!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Better than the old American saying: " me American, me play joke, me put coke in me nose".

    America: drug addict haven. Enjoy.