Cybersecurity Company Reveals Chinese Hacker Activities, Targeting Israel To Iran

JAKARTA - China is said to have hacked dozens of public and private sector groups in Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries, international cybersecurity firm FireEye announced Tuesday.

Massive cyber attacks are part of a long-term spy strategy in the competitive field of technological and business advancement, as opposed to any attempt to directly harm any target country or business.

According to FireEye as quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, August 10, Beijing does not discriminate along any fault line in the region, using its cyber tools to spy on various Middle Eastern countries, which are often at odds with each other, while all doing business with each other. China.

The goal is to gain an edge in achieving better negotiating outcomes, in terms of pricing by viewing internal email discussions and ratings, and to adapt certain key technology developments where possible.

In addition, the attack relates to a wide range of cyber-exploitation of a vulnerability in Microsoft Sharepoint announced by Israel's National Cyber Directorate (INCD) in 2019, and is not an attack whose maximum impact is currently being felt.

However, the INCD at that time tended not to name the specific countries involved and would not name China on Tuesday.

It is thought that several Israeli public and private sector entities began tackling the attack, shortly after the Sharepoint vulnerability was announced in 2019. But in other cases, Chinese spies in Israel are said to have continued into late 2020.

The timing of the current announcement appears to coincide with announcements by governments in Europe, Asia, the US and NATO in July, of a similar large-scale cyberattack by China.

China is generally in denial, but at the same time off-the-record complains that the US and other countries have double standards, saying if US businesses don't do espionage, the NSA does.

However, tolerance for China's cyberattacks has fallen globally as its popularity plummeted following the coronavirus crisis, democracy in Hong Kong, troubles in the South China Sea and allegations of war crimes in its treatment of the Uighur and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

It is known, Israel has a fairly intense business relationship with China, with Beijing said to be planning to open a new port in Haifa, Israel. However, Israel has also begun to improve its bargaining position, while avoiding direct confrontation with China.

Much earlier, former INCD head Buky Carmeli confirmed to the Jerusalem Post in August 2018, China and other cyber powerhouses have engaged in espionage across Israel's public and private sectors, but they have not yet reached the country's 'crown jewel' in digital terms.

Meanwhile, citing Haaretz, Sanaz Yashar, who is leading FireEye's investigation of Israeli targets, said one possible factor in the attack was China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is intended to create sustainable land and water routes around the world for products. China.

Sanaz said the initiative was linked to major infrastructure projects involving China, including in Israel, such as ports or railroads.

"China's other interest in Israel is its technology sector. There are many Israeli companies involved in areas that are at the core of China's interests, as reflected in their five-year plan," he explained.

"Their goal is not always to steal intellectual property. Maybe they are really looking for business information, he added.