Chinese APT 27 hackers targeting companies, says Germany | News | DW

German intelligence on Wednesday said the hacker group APT 27 has started targeting German companies in sectors together with prescribed drugs and expertise.

Officials say the acronym APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) 27 is an alias for a Chinese hacker group believed to focus on important sectors and overseas embassies.

What are the claims?

Germany’s home intelligence company, the Federal (*27*) for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), mentioned APT 27 had used a malware variant to focus on industrial firms.

The BfV mentioned the attackers had been exploiting vulnerabilities in generally used software program since March 2021 as a gateway for the assaults.

Intelligence chiefs mentioned the hackers is also making an attempt to infiltrate prospects’ and repair suppliers’ networks.

The BfV didn’t launch data reminiscent of the precise targets of the alleged hacking.

Who are the hackers?

The cyberespionage group APT 27 has been energetic since at the least 2010, in keeping with the BfV.

The BfV mentioned in its constitutional safety report from 2019, that APT 27 was the alias for a gaggle also referred to as “Emissary Panda.” The Chinese-based actor is claimed to focus on overseas embassies to gather data on authorities, protection and expertise sectors.

Last yr, the United States and its allies accused China of finishing up a world cyber-espionage marketing campaign, an allegation that Beijing denies.

The Biden administration in July formally blamed China for a large hack of Microsoft Exchange electronic mail server software program. The White House mentioned legal hackers related to the Chinese authorities had carried out ransomware assaults and different illicit actions.

Microsoft itself last year said a group operating from China reportedly tried to hack data from a number of US targets, together with infectious-disease researchers, legislation corporations, universities and non-governmental organizations. 

Edited by: Mark Hallam