Chinese hackers target Tibetan websites in malware attack, cybersecurity group says

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BANGKOK (AP) — A hacking group that is believed to be Chinese state-sponsored has compromised two websites with ties to the Tibetan community in an attack meant to install malware on users’ computers, according to findings released Wednesday by a private cybersecurity firm.

The hack of the Tibet Post and Gyudmed Tantric University websites appears geared toward obtaining access to the computers of people visiting to obtain information on them and their activities, according to the analysis by the Insikt Group, the threat research division of the Massachusetts-based cybersecurity consultancy Recorded Future.

The hackers, known in the report as TAG-112, compromised the websites so that visitors are prompted to download a malicious executable file disguised as a security certificate, Insikt Group said. Once opened, the file loads Cobalt Strike Beacon malware on the user’s computer that can be used for key logging, file transferring and other purposes, including deploying additional malware.

“While we do not have visibility into the activity that TAG-112 conducted on compromised devices in this campaign, given their likely cyber espionage remit and the targeting of the Tibetan community, it is almost certain that they were engaged in information collection and/or surveillance rather than destructive attacks,” Insikt Group senior director Jon Condra told The Associated Press.

Chinese authorities have consistently denied any form of state-sponsored hacking, saying China itself is a major target of cyberattacks.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of the hacking of the two websites reported by the Insikt Group.

“China’s stance on the issue of cybersecurity is consistent and clear,” the ministry said in a faxed reply to a request for comment without elaborating.

According to the Insikt group research, the sites were first compromised in late May and the attacks bear many overlaps with a previously tracked hacker group known as TAG-102, leading analysts to conclude it is a subgroup of the already known group “working toward the same or similar intelligence requirements,” Insikt Group said.