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Chinese Hackers Attack 2 Hong Kong Government Sites

Richard Bejtlich, a top American expert at FireEye computer security, says that the hacking group APT 3 is no joke. They have hacked two Hong Kong government agencies. This is in advance of the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections.

Is this an attempt to influence the elections? No one knows.

China Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, condemns calls for Hong Kong independence, but this is nothing new.

According to iSight, a FireEye group that tracks malware around the world, the APT 3 group is among the most sophisticated of hackers. They use the latest techniques.

The group's relationship to the Beijing government is not known. Fireye traced the APT 1 group to a PLA address in Shanghai, making the group a part of the People's Liberation Army.



In one of my previous interview with Bejtlich, he has told me that some groups work with the Chinese government in different relationship, although they are not formally part of the government.

They are "contractors." The logical reason for the PLA to employ a contractor is for deniability. The activity cannot be traced back to the Chinese government.

Another interviewee on the subject of cyber-spying, said that there are other criminal groups that work in association with the Chinese government.

The actual nature of the APT 3 group has not been reported in open sources at this time. They are an unknown.

Incidents of U.S. hacking by China-based groups have fallen since President Xi Jinping’s visited the U.S. last September and reached a cybersecurity deal, according to FireEye.

Looks like they are focusing on regional targets, namely that of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is straining against Beijing's control under the One Country, Two Systems rule. At this time, no one is saying whether this is an attempt to influence an election.

Stay tuned.

Bloomberg's reporter Rosalind Chin has posted an excellent video at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-01/hong-kong-government-hacked-by-chinese-cyberspies-fireeye-says
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