As per the news floating around the internet, it claims that Chinese hackers are trying to extract data from Russian Defense. Their efforts to spy on Russia, point to the complexity of the relations between two countries that have drawn closer in solidarity against the United States. It also underscores the sprawling and increasingly sophisticated tactics China’s cyber spies have used to collect information on an ever-expanding array of targets, including countries it considers friends, such as Russia.
According to sources, the emails, supposedly issued by Russia’s Ministry of Health, arrived in the inboxes of scientists and engineers at several of Russia’s military research and development facilities on March 23. They included a subject line that seemed to tease with information regarding a “list of those susceptible to US sanctions for invading Ukraine.” According to a new analysis to be issued on Thursday by the Israeli American cybersecurity firm Check Point, the emails were sent by state-sponsored hackers in China attempting to convince their Russian targets to download and open a document containing malware.
From the reports, Check Point claims that the Chinese effort was aimed at Russian research facilities that work on airborne satellite communications, radar, and electronic warfare. The institutes are part of Rostec Corp, a Russian military conglomerate that is one of the country’s largest and most powerful defense companies. Before Russia invaded Ukraine in July 2021, China initiated a spy operation. China’s hackers had immediately exploited narratives about the war in Ukraine for their aims, according to the March emails.
Furthermore, the hackers utilized tactics and codes that were similar to those used in prior operations ascribed to Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups. The hackers also utilized innovative techniques to hide their intrusions into the computers they targeted. Taking a page from Russia, China’s top spy agency has expanded its ranks by enlisting the help of the country’s increasing pool of tech employees. The technique has made its strikes more dispersed and unpredictable, but observers say it has also aided the country’s efforts by allowing agents to launch stealthy attacks around the world that target intellectual assets as well as defense data.
