Chinese hacking activity drops after public scrutiny, US pressure

22 Jun 2016

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US warnings coupled with public scrutiny of hacks by groups believed to be China-based might have had the desired effect of a decrease in intrusions by these groups against targets in the US and 25 other countries, according to a security firm.

Since mid-2014, after the US government resorted to punitive measures against China, which included steps like indicting members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for computer hacking, economic espionage and other charges, and raised the possibility of sanctions, FireEye had noted a decline in successful network compromises by China-based groups in these countries.

''We suspect that this shift in operations reflects the influence of ongoing military reforms, widespread exposure of Chinese cyber operations, and actions  taken by the US government,'' says a report released yesterday by FireEye's iSIGHT Intelligence.

The unit reviewed the activity of 72 groups suspected of operating in China or supporting Chinese state interests.

Similar trends were noted by other security firms, after strong measures were introduced by the US. However, in April, Admiral Michael Rogers, commander of the US Cyber Command, told a Senate committee that cyber operations from China were still "targeting and exploiting" US government, defence industry, academic and private computer networks."

According to the report, breaches attributed to China-based groups had plunged by 90 per cent in the past two years, with the most dramatic drop coming during last summer's run-up to the bilateral agreement, it added.

The security company's Madiant unit in 2013 blamed a specific unit of China's Peoples Liberation Army for a major campaign of economic espionage.

According to Kevin Madia, founder of the unit, who took over last week as FireEye chief executive, several factors seemed to be behind the shift. He cited embarrassment from Mandiant's 2013 report and the following year's indictment of five PLA officers from the same unit Mandiant uncovered in an interview.

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