Australian agency says China-backed hackers are behind cybercrimes

By Renju José

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s government cybersecurity agency on Tuesday accused a Chinese-backed hacking group of stealing passwords and usernames from two unidentified Australian networks in 2022, adding that the group remained a threat.

A joint report led by the Australian Cyber ​​Security Center said the hackers, called APT40, conducted malicious cyber operations for China’s Ministry of State Security, the main agency overseeing foreign intelligence.

“The activity and techniques overlap with groups tracked as Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) 40,” said the report, which included information from major cybersecurity agencies in the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Korea South and Germany. .

The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US and British authorities in March accused Beijing of a widespread cyberespionage campaign that allegedly targeted millions of people, including lawmakers, academics and journalists, and companies, including defense contractors. They said the Chinese-backed “APT31” was responsible for the network intrusion.

At the time, China said allegations of hacking by the US and Britain were “political maneuvers”.

APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often supported by the state, that engage in malicious cyber activities. New Zealand said in March that APT40 targeted its parliamentary services and parliamentary advisory office in 2021 and gained access to key information.

“(The Australian government) is committed to defending Australian organizations and individuals in the cyber domain, which is why for the first time we are leading this type of cyber assignment,” Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement released to the media.

The report comes at a time when Australia and China are rebuilding ties after a period of tense relations. Ties hit a low point in 2020 after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Beijing responded by imposing tariffs on several Australian commodities, most of which have been lifted.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Miral Fahmy)