China-linked hackers are using networks of vulnerable internet-connected devices, including home routers, printers and smart devices, as cover to mount espionage and hacking operations.
The technique is now used by the majority of China-linked hackers as a way to obscure hacking and espionage attacks launched against organisations in the West.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and national agencies in nine other countries have warned today that Chinese-linked groups are now leveraging networks of infected devices “at scale” to target critical sectors globally and steal sensitive data.
According to an advisory issued by the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance – comprising the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – and 10 other countries, Chinese groups are exploiting security vulnerabilities in unpatched internet devices to create networks to use as a staging post to launch further attacks.
“We know that China’s intelligence and military agencies now display an eye-watering level of sophistication in their cyber operations,” said NCSC chief Richard Horne in a speech at its CyberUK conference in Glasgow.
