Chinese Hackers Exposed in Multiple Cyber Espionage Operations

According to a report on August 18th, the Chinese Winnti hacking group, also known as ‘APT41’ or ‘Wicked Spider’, was revealed to have attacked at least 80 organizations last year and successfully compromised the networks of at least thirteen.

Researchers said 2021 was the most intense year for Chinese hackers, as Winnti successfully hacked hotel and software development companies in the United States, an airline firm in India, government, manufacturing and media entities in Taiwan. In addition, Winnti compromised university websites in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Hong Kong, a military portal in Thailand, and various Indian government’s websites.

Reports revealed various means used in Winnti’s malicious attacks including phishing, watering holes, supply chain attacks, and numerous SQL injections. However, due to its superior secrecy, the hacker group hides well in the communist China and continues with cyber espionage.

It is reported that after long time tracking and investigation, researchers found that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hackers work from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. UTC+8 time, which is good timing for their real-time operations targeting Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, Australia, etc.