Cyber Security Company Holds Army Unit Responsible For Online Attacks

Cyber Security Company Holds Army Unit Responsible For Online Attacks

A report made by a cyber security company accused the Chinese military of a number of online attacks against US and foreign companies recently.

Mandiant, a company based in Alexandria, Virginia, indicated that it monitored Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army attacking 141 companies ever since 2006. The report indicated that 115 of these companies were based in the United States.

The accusations made by the cyber security company have increased tension between the two countries. The allegations indicated that one country was responsible for online attacks while the other continued to deny such attacks. China also revealed that it has also been the target of similar attacks.

The State of the Union address of President Barack Obama also referred to some threats to the cyber security of the United States. The government will have to deal with such attacks that threaten the national security of the country. The report also identified the building where the supposed PLA unit was based in and its place within the military command of China.

Mandiant provides cyber security services for a number of corporations. It also analyzed the intrusions made by the group. The company looked into electronic clues that were left behind after the attacks. The company was able to look into the attachments that were sent to take control of the computer of users. The attachments allowed the company to identify the work of a specific group or programmer.

Among the industries that were attacked were identified to be consistent with the ones that were important in the growth of China. The companies were not revealed by the company although it indicated that the attacks included a number of energy, aerospace, scientific research and telecommunications companies.

The report also indicated that in addition to Unit 61398, another group is possibly responsible for the attacks. This group supposedly has access to the telecommunications infrastructure in Shanghai, according to the report of the cyber security company.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday February 21 2013, 2:10 AM EST. Ref: Miami Herald. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0