Italian diplomacy under attack from Chinese cybercriminal groups
PHOTO Google Creative Commons
editorial
The UNC6384 hacker group is a known actor: Google had spotted it while trying to penetrate the diplomacy of countries in Southeast Asia, but it seems that it has now spread to Europe.
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In September, the Italian government and diplomats were victims of an infection chain for espionage purposes by a cybercriminal group known as UNC6384, affiliated with the People's Republic of China. This was revealed in a detailed report by Arctic Wolf , an international cybersecurity firm, which explained how Italy was among the countries targeted by cyber espionage, along with Belgium, Hungary, and other EU member states. UNC6384 is a known actor, similar to the notorious Chinese group Mustang Panda : Google had identified it earlier this year while it was attempting to penetrate the diplomatic missions of Southeast Asian countries, but it appears to have now spread to Europe.
Its goal is to break into the computers of officials, employees, and members of the diplomatic corps and steal sensitive data such as memos and reports from diplomatic missions abroad and foreign policy guidelines. The Arctic Wolf report, like all similar reports, is highly detailed in its IT technicalities, details that help to attribute the campaign and seek solutions. What is useful to know, for those not in the know, is the method and purpose : the UNC6384 group uses so-called spearphishing , a form of personalized phishing targeting a specific target, and constructs perfectly credible emails on European Commission or NATO letterhead, along with personal invitations to meetings and workshops. This is sophisticated and costly espionage, which, according to the report, "indicates a broader intelligence mandate or the deployment of new specialized operational teams by geographic area," and above all, "it serves Beijing's strategic interests": a long-term infiltration "would allow China to obtain high-value political and diplomatic intelligence, including early warnings of potential policy changes toward Beijing." Italy, too, as a target of this and many other Chinese espionage campaigns, is faced with a reality: political autonomy also requires recognizing one's strategic adversaries.
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