China’s new espionage campaign is just part of a larger whole.
China was caught spying. AOP
Chinese cyber spies tried to capture the carefully guarded secrets of the Russian defense forces. The operation, codenamed Twisted Panda, targeted two Russian defense organizations and possibly one Belarusian research institute, but The Registerin however, according to the cart.
According to security researchers at Check Point, Twisted Panda is only part of a Chinese-funded spy operation that has been going on for months, possibly even a year.
Investigators said the attack spread the malware needed to spy through scam messages related to sanctions against Russia. According to the message, the attached appendix would reveal employees in the target organization who are subject to U.S. sanctions. The link was disguised to appear that clicking on it would take the Russian Ministry of Health to its website.
Messages were sent to organizations working under the Russian state-owned national defense giant Rostec Corporation.
A similar scam was also sent to a Belarusian research institute. It was titled as a warning about deadly pathogens spread by the US in Belarus.
According to Check Point, at the same time as the Twisted Panda campaign was launched, the hacking group Mustang Panda, working at the peak of the Chinese government, used the Ukrainian war to spy on Russian organizations.
Check Point believes that Twisted Panda is tied to either Mustang Panda or another Chinese-backed hacker group, Stone Panda.
In addition to precisely timed attacks, the techniques and tools used in the attacks suggested that it was very likely a spy operation funded by the Chinese government.