After tracking down a Chinese hacking unit which is believed to attack the main public and private agencies in the US, the experts of a cyber-security company called Mandiant – hastily hired by the New York Times at the request of its digital staff – are now making accusations to none other than the military and government of China.
An investigation carried out by the company concluded that the hacker spies were operating in an office building near Shanghai under the name Unit 61398. Mandiant also claims they have watched them infiltrate employees’ personal computers and compromise more than a hundred companies over the last years aiming to procure privileged information.
However, since the source of the attacks was traced to university computers that China has already used to attack United States military contractors, Mandiant seems now to be sure that the nosy Unit 61398 is part of a complex spy campaign against American newspapers and organizations which are considered in contrast with the Chinese government’s interests.
Although Beijing has repeatedly rejected the allegations, the “attacked” companies remain suspicious of how easily these cyber warriors broke into their security systems, stealing data and information from almost 11,000 km away.
di Gianmarco Capati
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