Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Chinese military hackers target space industry: study

Chinese military hackers target space industry: study: A Chinese military unit has run a hacking campaign that includes sending bogus email in a bid to intercept Western satellite communications and aerospace secrets, a US security firm said.

The report by the California-based firm Crowdstrike points to broader hacking by China weeks after the United States for the first time filed charges against Chinese military officers over alleged cyber-espionage.

Dubbed "Putter Panda" for its focus on the golf-playing set, the Shanghai-based unit is a "determined adversary group" that has operated since at least 2007 by sending email attacks that target Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Reader and other common software, Crowdstrike said.

Putter Panda's strategy includes sending email from innocuous-looking addresses -- mike.johnson_mj@yahoo.com was one example -- and offering fake invitations in hopes that users will click and unwittingly give hackers access to their computer systems.