Is China ’state actor’ behind biggest-ever global cyber attacks?

Is China 'state actor' behind biggest-ever global cyber attacks?

Cyber analysts have been speculating that the 'state actor' behind recently revealed world's most extensive case of cyber-espionage involving the infiltration of the networks of 72 organizations worldwide, is China.

MacAfee revealed that cyber spies believed to be working for a national government for the past five years stole vast amounts of classified, sensitive, or proprietary information from at least 72 companies and government and nonprofit groups in 14 countries.

The security company said it believed there was one 'state actor' behind the attacks but declined to name it.

But other cyber experts are suspecting China to be behind the massive global cyber attacks, the Cristian Science Monitor reports.

"China rises to the top of the list of nations that could do this," said James Lewis, a senior fellow and director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"This fits precedent with other attacks we've seen. It's not conclusive, but who else cares this much about Taiwan?" Lewis added.

The attacks uncovered by McAfee fit the pattern of other attacks attributed to Chinese hackers, the paper said.

In February 2011, McAfee reported that several multinational oil companies were victims of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers who downloaded sensitive data from their corporate networks.
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In that case, McAfee pointed fingers on Chinese hackers as the likely culprits working on behalf of the government, the paper said.
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"We have strong evidence suggesting that the attackers were based in China," McAfee's George Kurtz wrote in his blog at the time.
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"The tools, techniques, and network activities used in these attacks originate primarily in China. These tools are widely available on the Chinese Web forums and tend to be used extensively by Chinese hacker groups," it added.