For more than a decade, a Chinese cyberspy group has been spying on government and business networks in countries that are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Meanwhile, it was also spying on journalists who are critical of the Chinese Communist Party.
Details on the newly-discovered hacker group were published by security company FireEye on April 12. It states that the hacker group, which it calls “APT30,” has been involved in a “decade-long operation” aimed at targets “who hold key political, economic, and military information about the region.”
The hacker group has been operating since at least 2005, and has been using many of the same tools, tactics, and infrastructure throughout the years. Researchers with FireEye state, based on their findings, they believe the attacks are state-sponsored, “most likely by the Chinese government.”
The tools used by APT30 are not designed for economic theft. Instead, they’re designed specifically for spying. Their tools, according to FireEye, are designed to “identify and steal documents.”
