Haaretz: China Behind Mass Cyberattacks on "Israel"

"Israel" is finally aware of the party behind the cyberattacks that targeted its organizations, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
                                
In a report published on Monday by FireEye, an international cybersecurity company, the cyberattacks which targeted dozens of Israeli organizations, public and private, originated in China. 
 
The report mentioned that the main targeted fields were those of shipping, telecommunications, defense, high-tech, and academia. Yet IT companies were the most sought-after given they are considered to be a "Supply Chain Threat." By accessing their database, hackers can have direct access to multiple other affiliated companies. The campaign aimed at stealing information, business intelligence, and commercial secrets.
 
FireEye concluded that this was part of China’s strategy to study its business opponents and allies in order to develop its Belt and Road Initiative, meant to create a global route for Chinese products. 
 
The investigation’s leader, Sanaz Yashar, said that the initiative "is connected with huge infrastructure projects in which China is involved, including in "Israel," like ports or railroads," stressing the Chinese interest in the Israeli technology sector. Furthermore, the data they stole, which includes emails, usernames, and passwords, are meant to be used in order to assess business and trade prospects. 
 
FireEye has been monitoring the attacks for two years, finding out in the process that the Chinese cyberattacks were part of a larger campaign that targeted other countries including Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Iran, and Ukraine. To date, this remains the first registered case of a large-scale Chinese attack on "Israel."

On its account, the Chinese Embassy responded to the latest hacking claims, saying: “The FireEye report’s baseless accusations against China on cybersecurity issues are defamation for political purposes. China is a staunch upholder of cybersecurity. It has always firmly opposed and combated cyber attacks launched within its borders or with its network infrastructure.

“In fact, China is a major victim of cyberattacks. According to statistics from China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team, about 52,000 malicious program command and control servers located outside China took control of about 5.31 million computer hosts in China in 2020, which seriously undermined, undermined China's national security, and the security of China’s economy, critical infrastructure, and citizens’ personal information.” added the Chinese Embassy.

Previously, the UK, US, and EU have accused China of carrying out a major cyber-attack earlier this year.

China has repeatedly denied allegations of hacking and says it opposes all forms of cyber-crime.