Latest coverage for China

Our collection of the most relevant reporting and industry perspectives for those guiding cybersecurity strategies and focused on SecOps. Also included: Inside China's civilian hacker army; outer space threats; and NIST 2.0 Framework secrets for success.

New Rule Would Restrict Americans From Investing in Chinese AI, SemiconductorsThe U.S. Treasury Department is proposing a new rule that would restrict Americans from investing in technology companies developing quantum information technology, semiconductors and certain AI systems in countries the White House previously identified as posing potential national security risks.

A previously undocumented Chinese-speaking threat actor codenamed SneakyChef has been linked to an espionage campaign primarily targeting government entities across Asia and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) with SugarGh0st malware since at least August 2023

Also: UwU Lend's Hacks, Terraform Labs' Dissolution, Gemini's SettlementThis week, CertiK researchers allegedly stole money from Kraken, UwU Lend was hacked, Terraform Labs shut down, Gemini will pay defrauded investors, three entities claimed seized FTX assets, a Chinese bank suffered embezzlement and money laundering, and the SEC's crypto head is leaving.

DHS Calls for Public-Private Collaboration on Critical Infrastructure SecurityCritical infrastructure sectors face many potentially disruptive threats such as supply chain vulnerabilities and the growing dependency on space-based systems. But the top cyberthreats facing the U.S. are the People's Republic of China and emerging risks associated with AI and quantum computing.

Also: Chinese Cyberespionage, Defiant Cleveland, and a Spanish Ransomware AttackThis week, ONNX targeted Microsoft 365, Symantec spotted Chinese espionage, AMD may have been breached, Cleveland vowed to defy hackers, Black Basta hit a Spanish firm, Pakistani hackers targeted India, Microsoft said it fixed flaws in Azure, and the U.S. and Indonesia held a cybersecurity exercise.

A suspected Chinese threat actor tracked as UNC3886 uses publicly available open-source rootkits named 'Reptile' and 'Medusa' to remain hidden on VMware ESXi virtual machines, allowing them to conduct credential theft, command execution, and lateral movement. [...]

Cyber espionage groups associated with China have been linked to a long-running campaign that has infiltrated several telecom operators located in a single Asian country at least since 2021

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a new evasive malware loader named SquidLoader that spreads via phishing campaigns targeting Chinese organizations

UNC3886 Targeted Edge Devices for Persistence, Mandiant SaysA suspected Chinese hacking group used open-source rootkits to ensure persistence on compromised edge devices such as VMware ESXi servers for espionage campaigns, Google Mandiant said. The hacking group, which Mandiant tracks as UNC3886, is likely a Chinese threat group hacking for Beijing.

The China-nexus cyber espionage actor linked to the zero-day exploitation of security flaws in Fortinet, Ivanti, and VMware devices has been observed utilizing multiple persistence mechanisms in order to maintain unfettered access to compromised environments

Cyber threat intelligence provider Cyble observed a new malicious QR code phishing campaign targeting Chinese citizens

Chinese-speaking users are the target of a never-before-seen threat activity cluster codenamed Void Arachne that employs malicious Windows Installer (MSI) files for virtual private networks (VPNs) to deliver a command-and-control (C&C) framework called Winos 4.0

We recently discovered a new threat actor group that we dubbed Void Arachne. This group targets Chinese-speaking users with malicious Windows Installer (MSI) files in a recent campaign. These MSI files contain legitimate software installer files for AI software and other popular software but are bundled with malicious Winos payloads.

Chinese Threat Actor 'Velvet Ant' Evaded Detection for Years in Victim NetworkA Chinese threat actor used state-sponsored techniques to carry out a cyberespionage campaign targeting a major organization's networks after exploiting legacy technology to gain multiple footholds across the enterprise infrastructure, researchers said in a Monday blog post.

With the requirement that all vulnerabilities first get reported to the Chinese government, once-private vulnerability research has become a goldmine for China's offensive cybersecurity programs.

A group of suspected Chinese cyberespionage actors named 'Velvet Ant' are deploying custom malware on F5 BIG-IP appliances to gain a persistent connection to the internal network and steal data. [...]

The campaign is especially notable for the remarkable lengths to which the threat actor went to maintain persistence on the target environment.

A suspected China-nexus cyber espionage actor has been attributed as behind a prolonged attack against an unnamed organization located in East Asia for a period of about three years, with the adversary establishing persistence using legacy F5 BIG-IP appliances and using it as an internal command-and-control (C&C) for defense evasion purposes

New report reveals China’s attempts to access leading AI research for military purposes