Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 224

APT1, Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units (2021)

Since 2004, Mandiant has investigated computer security breaches at hundreds of organizations around the world. The majority of these security breaches are attributed to advanced threat actors referred to as the “Advanced Persistent Threat” (APT). We first published details about the APT in our January 2010 M-Trends report. As we stated in the report, our position was that “The Chinese government

UK imposes sanctions after Chinese-backed cyber-attacks

The UK government has formally accused China of being behind what it called "malicious" cyber campaigns against MPs and the Electoral Commission. Two people and a company have been sanctioned over cyber-attacks. Deputy PM Oliver Dowden said they were behind attempts to access details of MPs critical of Beijing, as well as the data of potentially 40 million voters.The Chinese embassy in the UK

Millions of Americans caught up in Chinese hacking plot - US

Millions of Americans' online accounts have been caught up in a "sinister" Chinese hacking plot that targeted US officials, the justice department and FBI said on Monday. Seven Chinese nationals have been charged with enacting a widespread cyber-attack campaign. They are accused of ties to a hacking operation that ran for 14 years. The US state department announced a reward of up to $10m (£8m)

Cambodia's Prince Group: A business empire built on crime?

In less than a decade, the Prince Group emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become one of Cambodia’s fastest growing and best-connected conglomerates. What lies behind this multibillion-dollar empire? For three years, RFA has dug through business records and tracked down sources everywhere from remote villages to international financial centers trying to answer this question.Radio Free Asia's

The Political Geography of the South China Sea Disputes

The South China Sea, one of the world’s most important and contentious bodies of water, constitutes a complex geopolitical space. It is frequently subject to misunderstandings and, in some cases, propaganda. The purpose of this Perspective is to provide essential background and context to the South China Sea dispute (which is, in reality, a series of disputes) from a political geography

Philippines summons Beijing envoy over South China Sea water cannon attack

The Philippines has summoned Beijing’s envoy after accusing the Chinese Coast Guard of wounding three of its soldiers during a water cannon attack in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Monday, said Manila conveyed its “strong protest against the aggressive actions” undertaken by China’s Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militias against

Blinken stands by US’ ‘ironclad commitment’ to defend Philippines amid fears of China conflict

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday reiterated the United States’ “ironclad commitment” to defend the Philippines as rising tensions with China in the South China Sea raise fears of a broader regional conflict.Stability in the region is seen as being increasingly threatened by clashes between Chinese coast guard and maritime militia units and Philippine vessels around disputed features

WORDS OF THE WEEK: XI JINPING’S PENCHANT FOR “POINTING THE WAY FORWARD”

The use of the standard Party formulation of Xi Jinping “pointing the way forward” on various policy issues has become so commonplace that the phrase has become an object of satire, a way of mocking Xi’s cult of personality and penchant for claiming personal leadership over any number of policy spheres. It has also given rise to some of Xi’s many nicknames, including “the immortal compass” and “

“When It All Comes down to It, China Has No Real ‘New Year’”

Li Chengpeng, born in 1968, also known as “Big-eyed Li,” had a successful career as a popular sports reporter in Beijing. He enjoyed early notoriety for his reporting on corruption in soccer, which is a national obsession, and his political ambitions. In recent years, Li has come to be known for social commentary and his scathing essays on current affairs. For the most part, his work circulates

It’s Grim out There: China’s Economy in the Year of the Dragon

At the end of January, a Hong Kong judge ordered the liquidation of the heavily-indebted Chinese real estate giant Evergrande. It was just the latest piece of bad news for China’s economy, after a year of disappointing growth, high youth unemployment, and various surveys and media reports that show a lack of confidence amongst China’s entrepreneurs and consumers.Some observers have been