CCP Hackers Target Australia’s News Corp Website

Recently, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hackers have been spotted impersonating Australia’s News Corp website. A prolific Chinese entity known as TA423 or Red Ladon, which has been operating since 2013, is behind the scheme, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and U.S. cybersecurity firm Proofpoint.

 The hackers targeted a range of defense contractors, manufacturers, universities, government agencies and law firms in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a government espionage group based in Communist China, sponsored by the Chinese government, and has mostly targeted Australian-based groups linked to the military, military contractors or operations in the South China Sea.

 Although Proofpoint was able to block attempted attacks on its customers, the campaign having lasted for over 13 months indicates that the hackers have successfully penetrated some users’ devices and gained access to useful data.

 Last year, the federal government accused China’s Ministry of State Security of exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange software, which affected thousands of computers and networks around the world, including Australia. The Chinese embassy in Canberra said at the time that China “always and firmly opposes all forms of cyber-attacks and cyber-theft” and called the allegations “groundless”.

 The News Corp Australia spokesman declined to comment on whether the company knew hackers had been impersonating employees in its publications. Australia’s latest annual report, released last week by the federal government’s cybersecurity industry advisory committee, found Australia was increasingly attractive to malicious actors and cybercriminals.