Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Chinese cyber spies 'posed as Iranians while targeting Israeli government'

Chinese cyber spies 'posed as Iranians while targeting Israeli government'

According to threat intelligence researchers, the hackers attempts to conceal their origin was more likely an effort to slow down response efforts than actually frame Iran.

A cyber espionage group from China masqueraded as Iranian hackers while breaking into and spying on Israeli government institutions, according to a new report by security researchers.

The report from security company FireEye, which unmasked the group alongside Israeli defence agencies, says there is insufficient evidence to link the espionage group to the Chinese state.

However, the company's threat analysts are confident that the espionage group is Chinese and that its targets "are of great interest to Beijing's financial, diplomatic, and strategic objectives".

The hackers' attempt to conceal their nationality was "a little bit unusual", according to Jens Monrad, who heads the work of FireEye's threat intelligence division Mandiant in EMEA.

"We have seen historically a few false flag attempts. We saw one during the Olympics in South Korea," he told Sky News, referencing Russian hackers pretending to be Chinese and North Korean.

"There might be several reasons why a threat actor wants to do a false flag - obviously it makes the analysis a bit more complex," Mr Monrad told Sky News.

The report focused on cyber spying targeting Israeli government institutions, IT providers, and telecommunications entities, but the group had additionally attempted to hack computer networks in the UAE and elsewhere.

Mr Monrad said the attempt to conceal the hackers' identity "wasn't very clever" but did slow the company's analysis of these incidents, which he added may have been the goal.

The Chinese group attempted to use Farsi in the parts of code which could be recovered by incident response teams, and also used hacking tools associated with Iranian groups that had previously been leaked online.

However, linguistic analysts at FireEye said the terms chosen by the group wouldn't have been used by native Farsi speakers.

"The use of Farsi strings, filepaths containing /Iran/, and web shells publicly associated with Iranian APT [Advanced Persistent Threat] groups may have been intended to mislead analysts and suggest an attribution to Iran," the report said.

FireEye said that although this group and the known state-sponsored group designated APT 27 had some overlaps, particularly in their targets, the company could only have low confidence in linking them together.

The Iranian government accused APT 27 of hacking into its networks in 2019.

Though the report was published this week, the hacking activities precede a warning in July from President Joe Biden about the growing likelihood of the US ending up in "a real shooting war with a major power" as a result of a cyber attack.

Speaking to Sky News previously - following then British defence secretary Gavin Williamson claiming that Moscow could cause "thousands and thousands and thousands" of deaths in the UK with a cyber attack - Mr Monrad cautioned that military responses to such an attack would requite a "very high certainty of attribution".

The new group, designated UNC 215 - meaning it is unclassified as either a state-sponsored group or one operating independently - also used the Hindi language and Arabic when targeting Uzbekistan.

FireEye's report stated: "This cyber espionage activity is happening against the backdrop of China's multi-billion-dollar investments related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its interest in Israel's robust technology sector.

"China has conducted numerous intrusion campaigns along the BRI route to monitor potential obstructions [including] political, economic, and security," the company said, adding that it anticipates China will "continue targeting governments and organisations involved in these critical infrastructure projects".

The report follows the UK and allies accusing China of "systematic cyber sabotage" following an espionage operation earlier this year which also allowed criminals, potentially including those which Beijing used as contractors, to access the affected servers.

At the time, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "The US ganged up with its allies and launched an unwarranted accusation against China on cybersecurity. It is purely a smear and suppression out of political motives. China will never accept this."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
×