Chinese hackers compromised 5 global telecom companies: Researchers

 

Chinese state-backed hacking groups compromised at least five global telecommunications companies and stole phone records and location data, according to cybersecurity researchers.

The hacking groups waged a campaign across Southeast Asia from 2017 to 2021, in some cases exploiting security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Corp.’s Exchange servers to gain access to telecommunication companies’ internal systems, according to a new report published Tuesday by US-based security firm Cybereason Inc.

Lior Div, the chief executive officer of Cybereason, said the hackers had obtained “the holy grail of espionage,” by gaining total control of the telecommunication networks they penetrated. Cybereason named the groups Soft Cell, Naikon and Group-3390.

“These state-sponsored espionage operations not only negatively impact the telcos’ customers and business partners, they also have the potential to threaten the national security of countries in the region and those who have a vested interest in the region’s stability,” Div said.

China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment. A government spokesperson previously denied allegations that Chinese hackers infiltrated Microsoft Exchange servers.

“The US ganged up with its allies and launched an unwarranted accusation against China on cybersecurity,” Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing on July 20 in Beijing. “It is purely a smear and suppression out of political motives. China will never accept this.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company hadn’t yet seen the report and therefore declined to comment.

Div declined to name specific companies or countries where the hackers carried out their intrusions, though the report said they targeted telecommunications providers in some Southeast Asian nations that had long-standing disputes with China. It also pointed to older research from the cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. that found one of the hacking groups had previously targeted government foreign affairs, science and technology ministries, as well as government-owned companies in countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

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