Chinese agencies and diplomatic missions have been targeted by hackers through their virtual private network (VPN) servers in a coordinated cyber espionage campaign, at a time when many governments and global organisations are more vulnerable than ever to security breaches due to remote working arrangements amid the pandemic, according to a report by a leading Chinese cybersecurity provider.
Both domestic Chinese agencies and diplomatic missions in countries including Italy, the UK, North Korea and Thailand have been attacked, according to a report by Qihoo 360. It speculated in the report that the East Asia-based DarkHotel hacking group attacked Chinese agencies for reasons linked to the pandemic.