State-Sponsored Chinese Hacking Group Targeting Crypto Firms: Report

A Chinese espionage operator is attacking crypto firms during state-sponsored campaigns, according to a FireEye Threat Intelligence report published August 2.

The intelligence company “assesses with high confidence” that APT41, a hacking collective, has moved on from financially motivated attacks of video game companies to working alongside the Chinese government.

Reportedly, the hacker group “targets industries in a manner generally aligned with China’s Five-Year economic development plans.”

In addition to targeted attacks of healthcare, telecoms, fintech, and film and media companies, evidence suggest APT41 has infiltrated and phished a number of firms operating in the crypto industry.

In June 2018, APT41 sent spear-phishing emails that prompted targets to join a cryptocurrency-denominated decentralized gaming platform to game studios.

The same month, a crypto exchange was targeted by the same email address, reportedly operated by one Tom Giardino.

Furthermore, in at least one instance, the hacking group deployed malicious code that uploads a monero mining bot on a target’s computer, in what is developing into a common form of cyber extortion.

Hacker photo via Shutterstock