Anonymous Message To NSA- They Are Not Targeting U.S. Power Grid

Anonymous Message To NSA- They Are Not Targeting U.S. Power Grid 

Few days ago Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found vulnerability on  U.S. power grid cyber security system. Yesterday General Keith Alexander The head of the National Security Agency suspected that hackers from Anonymous are going to exploit the vulnerability & shutdown the entire U.S. Power Grid. Later Anonymous responded while releasing You Tube video where they have clearly stated that they are not going to hit US Power grid because thousands of people rely on electricity for everything they do; hospitals even need this electricity to save lives, and taking out the power grid would cause harm to the very people we (Anonymous) wish to protect. There is no valid reason for us to shut down the power grid, as far as we are aware. Any such predictions by the various government, security, and intelligence organizations are likely attempts to instill fear into those that don't understand this, and to discredit Anonymous as a whole.

 

Anonymous Message to the NSA:-

"Greetings NSA,
We are Anonymous.
Your statement regarding the potential future sabotage of power grids by Anonymous, disgusts us to the core, as it is clearly an attempt at fear mongering. The idea that Anonymous would shut down one of the most vital resources for it to operate, is ludicrous.
While security and intelligence organizations throughout the world attempt to depict Anonymous as a 'terrorist organization', many people understand that this same subset of Anonymous they speak of, is actually a movement for freedom. This appears to scare government organizations, to the point where they might do anything in an attempt to discredit Anonymous, and make people believe Anonymous exists solely to harm innocent people.
Are these claims and predictions an attempt to falsely accuse Anonymous of something that will happen in the future - maybe even being orchestrated by the same government organizations that are now already blaming Anonymous? Many people have warned about the sad state of the power grid infrastructure in the past, but why would we shut down our own computers and other communication tools?
Thousands of people rely on electricity for everything they do; hospitals even need this electricity to save lives, and taking out the power grid would cause harm to the very people we wish to protect.
There is no valid reason for us to shut down the power grid, as far as we are aware. Any such predictions by the various government, security, and intelligence organizations are likely attempts to instill fear into those that don't understand this, and to discredit Anonymous as a whole.
We are Anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
For once don't expect us."

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NSA Is Suspecting That Anonymous Could Shutdown The Entire U.S. Power Grid

NSA Is Suspecting That Anonymous Could Shutdown The Entire U.S. Power Grid

Earlier we have covered that Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told that U.S. power grid needs cyber security protection. Now the US Govt is suspecting that 'Hactivist' Anonymous may target this vulnerable point and shut down the entire U.S. power grid within the next two years. General Keith Alexander The head of the National Security Agency has warned- that the hacker collective group Anonymous may be able to bring about a limited national power outage through a cyber attack. In the meeting at White House has relayed his concerns. Though he has not publicly expressed his concerns about the potential for Anonymous to disrupt power supplies, he has warned publicly about an emerging ability by cyber attackers to disable or even damage computer networks. Still Anonymous has never indicated to perform cyber attack against US power grid, but in the last week they have called Operation Global Blackout, a plan to shut down the Internet on March 31. And the security experts are suspecting that while executing that attack Anon may target the US power grid.

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U.S. Power Grid Should Enhance Cybersecurity Protection Panel, Said Researchers

In a report Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told that U.S. power grid needs cybersecurity protection: panel. The U.S. should implement standards to reduce the risk of cyberattacks on the power grid and should designate one agency responsible for overseeing grid cybersecurity.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a national group of electricity grids, is responsible for applying such standards for the bulk power system. Yet none exist as of yet to govern distribution systems, which move power from the bulk system to homes and businesses, according to the report released Monday in Washington. In a report on the future of the U.S. electric grid, through 2030, the team recommended that the federal agency should work with industry and have the appropriate regulatory authority to enhance cybersecurity preparedness, response and recovery. To cope with an expected increase in renewable sources such as wind and solar power, where energy is often generated far from the densely populated areas where it is used, the panel recommended granting more authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to site transmission facilities that cross state lines.

Recommendations:-

• Utilities with advanced metering technology should start the transition to customer prices that reflect the time-varying costs of supplying power, to improve the grid’s efficiency and make rates lower.

• The electric power industry should fund research and development in computational tools for bulk power systems, methods for wide-area transmission planning, procedures for responding to cyberattacks and models of consumer response to real-time pricing.

• To improve decision-making, more detailed data about the bulk power system, results from “smart grid” demonstration projects and other measures of utility cost and performance should be compiled and shared.

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Chinese Hackers Breached Telvent's Corporate Network & Gained Control of US Power Grid

Chinese Hackers Breached Telvent's Corporate Network & Gained Control of US Power Grid

Telvent - the maker of power-grid control systems and smart meters and whose software and services remotely administers and monitor large sections of the US energy industry has began warning its customers about a sophisticated hacker attack originated from China. Telvent, a division of Schneider Electric, has admitted hackers breached its corporate network, implanted malicious software and lifted sensitive project files. The raid spanned Telvent systems in the US, Canada and Spain, according to a letter sent to the company's customers this month. Criminals can now study the documents for vulnerabilities in the systems, and potentially devise attacks to sabotage nations' electricity distribution networks. It looks like the hackers managed to get past the company firewall and security systems. In letters sent to customers last week, Telvent Canada said the attack happened on September the 10th.

The attackers installed malicious software and stole project files related to one of its core offerings — OASyS SCADA — a product that helps energy firms mesh older IT assets with more advanced “smart grid” technologies. The company said it was disconnecting the usual data links between clients and affected portions of its internal networks. Meanwhile it is looking for virus or malware files. Telvent has cut data links between at-risk portions of its internal network and clients' systems as a precaution while it probes the breach. Police have been called in to investigate the attack. 

In a report The Register said -Dale Peterson, founder and chief of industrial control security specialist Digital Bond, spelled out the kinds of information present in the lifted documents. "Some project files contain the 'recipe' for the operations of a customer, describing calculations and frequencies at which systems run or when they should be turned on or off," He told press. "If you're going to do a sophisticated attack, you get the project file and study it and decide how you want to modify the pieces of the operation. Then you modify the project file and load it [onto a company's control system], and they're not running what they think they're running." 

While talking about US power grid, we would like to remind you that, earlier researcher have warned about several security holes in power which could even allow an attacker to shutdown the entire system. Soon after  this story made public, National Security Agency (NSA) suspected that hacktivist Anonymous may target the Entire U.S. Power Grid. What ever such massacre did not happen, and Anon said they are not interested to hit power industry. 

Chinese Hackers Behind Some Biggest Cyber Espionage:- 

Couple of months ago we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

The above phenomena are clearly indicating that hackers from China was directly linked and responsible for all those biggest cyber espionage. Still it is not clear that whether these cyber criminals are supported by the Govt. or not!!

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Researcher Security Hole Found in US Power Plants, DHS is Investigating

Researcher Security Hole Found in US Power Plants, DHS is Investigating  

Security researcher figure out seirous flaws in software for specialized networking equipment from Siemens could enable hackers to attack US power plants and other critical systems. A security expert said that he had found a backdoor in hardware from a Siemens subsidiary. The alleged flaw was made public by security researcher Justin W Clarke at a conference in Los Angeles. The equipment is widely used by power companies mainly based on US. Clarke said that the discovery of the flaw is disturbing because hackers who can spy on communications of infrastructure operators could gain credentials to access computer systems that control power plants and other critical systems. "If you can get to the inside, there is almost no authentication, there are almost no checks and balances to stop you," Clarke said.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was in contact with the firm to assess the claim. After this issue came in-front, the US Govt immeditely taken stpes & investigating the whole scenario. RuggedCom, a Canadian subsidiary of Siemens that sells networking equipment for use in harsh environments such as areas with extreme weather, said it was investigating Clarke's findings, but declined to elaborate. This is the second bug that Clarke, a high school graduate who never attended college, has discovered in products from RuggedCom, which are widely used by power companies that rely on its equipment to support communications to remote power stations.

In May, RuggedCom released an update to its Rugged Operating System software after Clarke discovered that it had a previously undisclosed "back door" account that could give hackers remote access to the equipment with an easily obtained password. The Department of Homeland Security's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which is known as ICS-CERT, said in its advisory on Tuesday that government analysts were working with RuggedCom and Clarke to figure out how to best mitigate any risks from the newly identified vulnerability. "According to this report, the vulnerability can be used to decrypt SSL traffic between an end-user and a RuggedCom network device," Read the full advisory. 

This is not the first time, earlier in 2011 - researcher found vulnerability in the security system of US Power Grid, form which NSA suspected that hacktivist Anonymous may even shutdown the entire US Power Grid. later The White House introduced an Electric Sector Cybersecurity Risk Maturity Model. For these kind of cyber security updates & news, just stay tuned with VOGH. 

-Source (Reuters & BBC)

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Chinese Hackers Eavesdropping European Diplomats Before G20 Summit

Researchers At FireEye Found -Chinese Hackers Snitching  Europeans Before G20 Summit 

Story of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers used to remain one of most highest pick of breakneck. Yet again another breathtaking issue of  eavesdropping by Chinese hackers get spot light, when  California-based renounced computer security firm FireEye Inc have figured out that a group of Chinese hackers eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries before last September's G20 Summit, which was dominated by the Syrian crisis. From the detailed analysis we came to know that the hackers have infiltrated the ministries' computer networks by sending emails to staff containing tainted files with titles such as "US_military_options_in_Syria," which sells virus fighting technology to companies. Whenever the targeted recipients opened those documents, they loaded malicious code on to their personal computers. Researchers of FireEye said that they were able to monitor the "inner workings" of the main computer server used by the hackers to conduct their reconnaissance and move across compromised systems for about a week in the late August. But suddenly they lost access to the hackers after they moved to another server shortly before the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Though the company has declined in open press to identify the nations whose ministries were hacked, although it said they were all members of the European Union. But FireEye informed the FBI about the whole issue in details. FireEye also confirmed that the hackers where from China, but they did not find evidence which may link those hackers to the Chinese government. Not surprisingly and obviously like earlier the Chinese government has distanced itself from any claim that it might have hacked foreign governments for data. FireEye also successfully monitor several dozen hacking groups operating in China, most of which they suspect of having ties to the government. The firms also suspect the hacking groups of stealing intellectual property for commercial gain. The researchers had been following the hackers behind the Syria-related attack for several years, but this is the first time the group's activities have been publicly documented. The company calls the group "Ke3chang," after the name of one of the files it uses in one of its pieces of malicious software. "The theme of the attacks was U.S. military intervention in Syria," said FireEye researcher Nart Villeneuv. 

On reaction Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said- "U.S. internet companies are keen on hyping up the so-called hacker threat from China, but they never obtain irrefutable proof, and what so-called evidence they do get is widely doubted by experts. This is neither professional nor responsible," 

While talking in this story of Chinese eavesdropping, I also want to dig some points from decent parts where we all became very habituated of seeing Europe & U.S. countries blaming China for engaging cyber attacks; and China also do the same for accusing U.S. like vice versa. I am reviving your memories of last few years where If you look at the story of major cyber attacks of this year we will find that the name of China has been involved several times for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile websites and organization of U.S. including New York Times, Twitter, NBC and so on. And if you refresh our memory then then we will find the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible.  

Before I conclude, I request you to closely look at the above mentioned stories, you will find China majorly responsible for eavesdropping & security breach. On the same side China also been effected by the same way. So in conclusion, we cant put a full stop in this chain of cyber attacks, hacking & eavesdropping, as it comes from both end. So this exciting episode will be continued like it does. If you want to stay updated then don't forget to stay tuned with VOGH. 

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White House Calls China to Stop Hacking & Cyber Espionage Against U.S.

White House Calls China to Stop Hacking & Cyber Espionage Against U.S.

The story of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers used to remain on the spot light due to its consistency, but now the situation get nasty and takes a new way as the national security adviser of U.S. President Obama directly pointed his finger to China. Many of our readers might take this issue lightly as earlier China has been blamed for engaging cyber attacks against different countries for many times. But this time there is a twist as the U.S. government vows to take the issue in a very serious manner. In his speech the national security advisory Tom Donilon said that "The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country," Like earlier China has denied any type of involvement and condemned the report for lack of hard evidence. But this time such reaction will not at all be entertained as the president said in the State of the Union, "we will take action to protect our economy against cyberthreats." The above two statements can be taken in both friendly warning or also in a serious threat. The White House already warned China to end the campaign of cyber espionage against U.S. companies, saying in its toughest language yet on the issue that the hacking activity threatens to derail efforts to build stronger ties between the two countries. 

Donilon did not directly accuse the Chinese government of launching the attacks on U.S. computer systems, only noting that the attacks are coming from inside the country. "Increasingly, U.S. businesses are speaking out about their serious concerns about sophisticated, targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China on an unprecedented scale," he said. Another important message came from the Obama administration saying United States “will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state” and called on Chinese leaders to get serious about cracking down on cyber-related crimes. 

While covering this story we would like to remind you that couple of weeks ago Chinese officials issued a same complain against United States where they blamed U.S. for engaging massive cyber attacks against Chinese military and defense system. If you look at the story of major cyber attacks of last few days we will find that the name of China has been involved several times for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile websites and organization of U.S. including New York Times, Twitter, NBC and so on. And if you refresh our memory then then we will find the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

-Source (The Hill, Cnet & WT)

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China Claiming Their Defense & Military Sites are Serially Attacked By U.S. Hackers

China Claiming Their Defense & Military Sites are Serially Attacked By U.S. Hackers 

We all are very much familiar of hearing the story of cyber espionage and cyber attacks originated from China by Chinese hackers. Where many countries across the globe have fallen victim like U.S. India, Japan, South Korea, many European countries and many more. But today a complete reverse story came under light where the Chinese government are claiming that several top secrete government sites like defense, army, military were targeted and hit by hackers from United States. According to some classified sources it came that Chinese government websites are routinely hacked from IP addresses originating within the United States. In a news conference, spokesman of Defense Ministry of China; Mr. Geng Yansheng said that - more than 144,000 hacking attempts per month are targeted at the China Military Online and Defense Ministry websites. According to Chinese defense ministry a close to two-thirds of those attacks (62.9 percent) originated in the United States. Geng said he had noted reports that the United States planned to expand its cyber-warfare capability but that they were unhelpful to increasing international cooperation towards fighting hacking.

"We hope that the U.S. side can explain and clarify this." The U.S. security company, Mandiant, identified the People's Liberation Army's Shanghai-based Unit 61398 as the most likely driving force behind the hacking. Mandiant said it believed the unit had carried out "sustained" attacks on a wide range of industries. Yansheng did not mention a direct link between the cyber attacks and the U.S. government only that the attacks originated in the United States. He did note, however, that China is concerned with reports that the United States is planning to expand its cyber warfare capabilities. 

In the last month China was blamed for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile websites and organization of U.S. including New York Times, Twitter, NBC and so on. And if you refresh our memory then then we will find the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

After keeping in mind all the above facts, we can not conclude the matter very easily, but what we can say that, whether China is responsible or not is neither been proved so far. In spite of looking at the situation we can only say, the entire matter is foggy; where the original truth has either been manipulated or been still untold. But it is sure that those untold or manipulated issues will some day came in front, till that time we have to keep patience and don't forget to stay tuned with VOGH for all kind of cyber related topics and expert reviews.

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Obama Proposes Anti-Hacking Laws

Hackers will face tougher penalties in the U.S. if the Obama administration's proposed cyber-security measures become law, in an attempt to deter attacks on critical online infrastructure.Under the new law, hackers would face 20 years in prison for endangering national security, 10 years for stealing data and three years for accessing a government computer.

The proposal doubles the penalties from current laws in nearly every category, responding with force to the spate of hacks that have made headlines this last month.The Obama administration first suggested the law last month, before the hacking group LulzSec broke into FBI, CIA and U.S. Senate websites. If prosecuted under the new law, its members could face hefty prison terms for flaunting national security.Compared to the anonymous hacks against Lockheed Martin and the International Monetary Fund, however, LulzSec's distributed denials-of-service, or DDoS, attacks against government websites were merely an annoyance.

Groups like LulzSec, who hack for the fun of it, may face the same sentences as serious data thieves under the cyber-security plan.

Either way, the trouble lies in catching computer hackers who use botnets and server mis-location to cover their tracks. Months after Sony's disastrous data breach left 100 million users' information exposed, Sony and the FBI still haven't found those responsible for the attack.

Tracking down "smoking keyboards" is not impossible, however, as Spain and Turkey proved by arresting members of the Anonymous hacking group. Spain's authorities captured three men accused of intending to publish "sensitive data" about Spanish politicians and policemen. Turkey nabbed 32 Anonymous hackers that had coordinated DDoS attacks against the Turkish government after the country announced plans to restrict Internet services starting this August.

Arresting hackers may deter some from attempting further exploits, but in Anonymous' case the group's loose-knit organization means hundreds of new hackers can rise to fill one member's shoes.

Furthermore, some hackers may have government backing, as IMF officials believe was the case in their hack and as Google alleges happened to them in China.If governments are indeed involved in some of the major recent hacks, things could get sticky, as the Pentagon is set to publish a policy to use physical force against online crime. As one official warned, "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

The difficulties of catching and prosecuting hackers seem nearly insurmountable. But the new law in the U.S. could encourage a reduction in cybercrimes if it makes an example of even a few.

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White House Unclassified Network Hacked By Chinese Hackers Using Spear Phishing

White House Unclassified Network Hacked By Chinese Hackers Using Spear Phishing

Another cyber espionage generated from China targeted the White House. U.S. government computers reportedly including systems used by the military for nuclear commands were breached by Chinese hackers. The White House it self confirmed the breach, while saying that hackers indeed made an attempt to infiltrate its computer system, but says it thwarted the effort and that no classified networks were threatened. Also the security breach did not appear to have stolen any data. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the White House is equipped with mitigation measures that identified the attack, isolated it and prevented its spread. He said there was no indication that any data was removed. “There are distinctions between those networks that contain classified information and those that don’t, and the attack was against an unclassified network,” Carney said. 

The hackers breached the network by using a technique known as spear phishing, in which they target victims who have access to sensitive computer networks by sending personalized emails that appear to come from trusted sources. Once the victims click on the bogus attachment or link, the hackers can install malicious software on the PCs to spy on users and steal data.  A law enforcement official who works with members of the White House Military Office confirmed the Chinese attack to press on Monday, but it remains unclear what information, if any, was taken or left behind. But still The White House officially did not say whether the recent attack was linked to China or not. 

"This [White House Communications Agency] guy opened an email he wasn't supposed to open," the source said. That email contained a spear phishing attack from a computer server in China, the law enforcement source told the press. The attack was first reported by the conservative blog Free Beacon. Spear phishing involves the use of messages disguised to appear as valid; in fact, they contain targeted, malicious attempts to access sensitive or confidential information. 

While talking about this breach, we would like to remind you that just few days ago Chinese hackers breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Couple of months ago we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

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Chinese Hackers Breached New York Times & Stolen Employee's Password

Chinese Hackers Breached New York Times & Stolen Employee's Password 

Yet again the story of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers spotted in the wild, when the famous and one of the most popular American news daily reported that their system has been compromised by a round of sophisticated cyber attack generated from China. After the hack of White House unclassified network, it is the second time in last six month; when Chinese hackers have targeted the American cyber space. The New York Times has reported that for the last four months Chinese hackers have been infiltrating its networks, broken into the email accounts of senior staff, stolen the corporate passwords for every Times employee and used those to gain access to the personal computers of  more than 50 employees. 

According to a blog post of NYT - The timing of the attacks coincided with the reporting for a Times investigation, published online on Oct. 25, that found that the relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, had accumulated a fortune worth several billion dollars through business dealings. Security experts hired by The Times to detect and block the computer attacks gathered digital evidence that Chinese hackers, using methods that some consultants have associated with the Chinese military in the past, breached The Times’s network. They broke into the e-mail accounts of its Shanghai bureau chief, David Barboza, who wrote the reports on Mr. Wen’s relatives, and Jim Yardley, The Times’s South Asia bureau chief in India, who previously worked as bureau chief in Beijing. 

“Computer security experts found no evidence that sensitive e-mails or files from the reporting of our articles about the Wen family were accessed, downloaded or copied,” said Jill Abramson, executive editor of The Times. The hackers tried to cloak the source of the attacks on The Times by first penetrating computers at United States universities and routing the attacks through them, said computer security experts at Mandiant, the company hired by The Times. This matches the subterfuge used in many other attacks that Mandiant has tracked to China.

Cyber Espionage of China (2011-2012) at a Glance:-

While talking about this cyber attack, we would like to refresh your memory last two years, where the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible. 

All those above stories it has been clearly identified that China was the point of those said attacks, but it doesn't necessarily prove that it the operation is backed by the Chinese government or intelligence services. It could just as easily be a patriotic group of skilled, independent Chinese hackers upset with how the Western media is portraying their country's rulers. For all kind of cyber related topics and expert reviews on those matters just stay tuned  with only VOGH. 

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