Chinese government: Its hackers have a global reach

Hackers working for the Chinese government are attacking many countries around the world.

Hackers working to advance the military and economic development goals of the People's Republic of China have so far targeted a giant German pharmaceutical company, Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers and high-tech manufacturers in countries such as USAThe South Korea and Australia.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a July 9 press conference that the threat posed by hackers in the People's Republic of China affects "people around the world who have really tried to invent things."

The European Union (EU) has fined two PRC nationals and China-based Haitai Technology Development Company Limited for "malicious cyber-activities aimed at undermining its integrity, the security and economic competitiveness of the European Union ”.

"Cyber ​​threats are growing and evolving, affecting the whole world," said EU Secretary of State Josep Borrell, announcing the first sanctions in a tweet on July 30. "We will not tolerate such behavior."

The methods of the People's Republic of China vary from hiring hackers to sending military officers abroad to represent politicians. researchers.

U.S. prosecutors have accused two hackers, working with the DRC State Department, of hacking into high-tech industrial systems in 11 countries, including Australia, Belgium and Japan. The attack lasted more than a decade and aimed to steal technology from many sectors - including companies developing vaccines and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August, cybersecurity researchers uncovered an attack targeting several microchip manufacturers in Ταϊβάν. Hackers working with the Chinese government carried out the cyber-attack "with the aim of stealing as much technology as possible".

In 2018, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer found malware on its computer networks. Security experts believe the attack came from a group based in mainland China called the "Wicked Panda", according to Reuters.

Finally, dozens of scientists of the People's Liberation Army of China have hidden their military ties to travel to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, the USA and the EU to conduct research in areas such as missiles and navigation technology, the researchers said.