Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iran's judiciary says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 67 Palestinians were martyred in 24 hours in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyred in the Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kawnin
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone targets a car in the town of Kawnin
Naeini: If our national interests are attacked again, our response this time will be stronger and more destructive

NSA behind major cyberattack on Chinese university

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 5 Sep 2022 12:46
  • 4 Shares
5 Min Read

According to a new investigation, the NSA has administered tens of thousands of malicious attacks against targets in China recently.

  • x
  • Northwest Polytechnical University in Shaanxi (nwpu.edu.cn)
    Northwest Polytechnical University in Shaanxi (nwpu.edu.cn)

The Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi, China, announced that foreign hackers were caught sending phishing emails with Trojan horse programs (malware that misleads users) to teachers and students at the university, in an attempt to steal their data and personal information. 

The day after, a police statement released by the Beilin Public Security Bureau in Xi’an stated that the attack's intent was to lure teachers and students into clicking links of phishing emails, tricking them with themes involving scientific evaluation, thesis defense, and information on foreign travel, in order to obtain their email login credentials.

China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, and internet security company 360,  formed a joint technical team to conduct a comprehensive technical analysis of the case and investigate the attack.

After collecting multiple trojan samples from internet terminals of Northwestern Polytechnical University, with the support of European and South Asian partners, the team initially diagnosed that the cyberattack was conducted by the Tailored Access Operations (TAO) (Code S32) under the Data Reconnaissance Bureau (Code S3) of the Information Department (Code S) of the US’ NSA (National Security Agency). 

TAO, founded in 1998, is the largest and most significant part of the intelligence division of the NSA and its main responsibility is to secretly access the insider information of its competitors through the internet, invade target countries' classified information infrastructure to steal account codes, break computer security systems, monitor network traffic, invade privacy and steal sensitive data such as access to phone calls, emails, network communications, and messages. 

The cyber-warfare intelligence-gathering unit is composed of more than 1,000 active military personnel, network hackers, intelligence analysts, academics, hardware and software designers, and electronics engineers. The entire organizational structure contains one "center" and four "divisions."

The Global Times learned that the attack was code-named "shotXXXX" by the NSA. The head of TAO, Rob Joyce, is directly involved in the command and action alongside the remote operations center (responsible for operational weapons platforms and tools for controlling target systems) and an infrastructure task division (mainly responsible for developing and building network infrastructure and security monitoring platform for attacks). 

Related News

Slovakia threatens to block new EU sanctions over Russian energy

1,200 soldiers from 4 NATO states train river crossing in Germany

The four other divisions also contributing to the execution included the advanced/access network technology division, the data network technology division, the telecommunications network technology division (technical support), and the requirements and location division (for strategy and intelligence assessment).  

According to the investigation, TAO has administered tens of thousands of malicious attacks against targets in China recently, controlling large numbers of network devices such as web servers, internet terminals, network switches, telephone switches, routers, and firewalls to steal a high value of more than 140 GB of data.

It was discovered that TAO had acquired the management authority of a large number of communication network equipment in China, but what facilitated the invasions was the cooperation of several large and well-known internet enterprises in the US before the attack began. Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, infamously known for uncovering US intelligence secrets in 2013, disclosed data on cyber activities in China and Hong Kong when American magazine Foreign Policy simultaneously confirmed TAO’s existence within the agency that has been successfully violating Chinese computer and telecommunications systems for almost 15 years.

TAO used 41 types of digital weapons 54 jumpers and proxy servers to steal the core technology data from the university including key network equipment configuration, network management data, and core operational data which the technical team discovered in more than 1,100 attack affiliations inside the university and more than 90 operating instruction sequences. The servers were distributed in 17 countries such as Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Poland and Ukraine. 

According to the source at the university, 13 people from the US were directly involved in the attack, and more than 60 contracts and 170 electronic documents that the NSA signed with US telecom operators were found through a cover company to build an environment for cyberattacks. 

The NSA has been notoriously executing secret hacking activities against China’s governments, universities, medical institutions, scientific research institutions, infrastructure and maintenance units related to the national economy and people’s livelihood. China's National People's Congress passed a law, the Personal Information Protection, which protects online user privacy in cyberspace. As the second draft of the law was lodged last April, upon passing, it will be implemented starting November 1. 

On June 29, China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and internet security company 360 also disclosed a new vulnerability attack weapon platform utilized by the NSA, which experts believe is the main equipment of TAO, that bullseyes the world with a focus on China and Russia - raising wide suspicions that the country might be preparing for a bigger cyberwar. 

Earlier this year, US President Joe Biden was presented with a variety of cyberattack possibilities to deploy against Russia, according to sources familiar with the situation, but no final decision has been taken. 

  • Russia
  • US
  • Cybersecurity
  • China
  • Ukraine
  • TAO
  • NSA

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
The site of a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Op. True Promise 3, wave 21: Multi-warhead missiles rain on 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 23 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
In this June, 12, 2021, file photo, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran.
Politics

Iran strategically foiled Israeli-US scheme, Advisor Shamkhani says

Sheikh Naim
MENA

Let no one think they can subjugate Hezbollah: Sheikh Qassem

Screengrab from a video published by the al-Qassam Brigades shows confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video of deadly ambush with Israeli forces in Gaza

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS