China has been systematically hacking into Russian military programs and related production facilities. The hackers, working for the Chinese government, are looking for warfighting information, according to The New York Times.
China has been infiltrating Russian systems since shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This despite the two nations saying they support each other. The Times reported that it obtained a document that outlines the concerns of a Russian intelligence unit that is concerned about the Chinese invasions of Russian computer networks.
A joint China-Russia announcement in 2015 signaled an agreement to refrain from spying on each other and allow their law enforcement personnel to exchange security-related information.
It would appear all that is in the past, as the Times report outlined several topics of war-related information that China feels the need to sneak in and grab. Two primary areas of interest are drone technology and software.
Russia has shown its capability to deploy deadly missiles and drones against Ukraine. Its attacks against Ukraine in late May caused President Donald Trump to declare that Russian President Vladimir Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" for ordering the devastating attacks.
Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at the security firm Sophos, told the Times that one hacking group called Mustang Panda, believed to be connected to the Chinese government, has been actively probing Russian systems. “The targeting we’ve observed tends to be political and military intelligence gathering,” he said. “I think of them as being one of the main tools that the Chinese state has for gathering political and economic intelligence.”
Mustang Panda was identified by the Justice Department in January for being involved in hacking more than 4,200 computers, targeting “U.S. victims, as well as European and Asian governments and businesses, and Chinese dissident groups.”
The Justice Department said it assisted with the removal of spyware that had been covertly installed in thousands of computers using the Windows operating system by Mustang Panda and another hacker group.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.