Sophos’ Post

Transcript

Well, be it American presidents or British politicians, hackers have grown increasingly bold in who and what they target. The finger of blame for such cyber attacks is regularly pointed at China, and one city in particular has gained a reputation as a hacking hub. Debbie went on the trail of those allegedly responsible in Chengdu, where she found abandoned offices and had an unexpected encounter with a former employee. Chengdu was shrouded in a thick smog this week. It cast the city, popular for its laid back lifestyle, giant pandas and spicy Sichuan food, in a depressing hue. But we were interested in its alternative reputation as Chinas hacking capital. The first leads we followed came from the British company Sophos. When they suffered a series of cyber attacks starting in 2018, they set out to find those responsible. A5 year long investigation led to Chengdu. This isn't just the typical uniformed hackers in the Ministry of State Security. What we really saw is this glimpse into this ecosystem that is fueled by both the state but also private contractors and individuals. We tried to find the companies Sichuan Silence, which was named by Sophos and which last month was sanctioned by the US government for hacking thousands of businesses. There was no trace of the company at its registered address. But a call to its listed phone number was picked up. It turned out to be a former senior employee. He surprised us by agreeing to meet. He asked to remain anonymous but clearly wanted to defend the company he worked at when alleged cyber crimes were committed. Just look, we have never asked any employee to hack into the system of anyone else. This is not something our company would do. Secondly, we have never been asked to hack into other companies or countries. So I'm not sure where this claims come from. He had a colleague Philmar interview. For his own record, he said, what exactly are you connections with the state and are you required to share your information and work on the half of the Stanton? Woman so once. Yeah, well, we are a cyber security company. It is normal to have dealings with the police. I don't know what you are trying to say here. This kind of relationship is normal. Or you can see a slang there. The lid was blown off Chengdu's hacking network by a major data leak this time last year. I see. Quite clearly. The sign has been taken down. We returned to I soon, the company at the center of those hacking for higher revelations to find their offices had been hastily abandoned. Next, we visited Chengdu 404, which is believed to be behind the Advanced persistent threat group APT 41. The FBI has five APT 41 hackers on its wanted list. The group has targeted hospitals, banks and telecom networks. The cyber threat actor APT 41 has been linked to multiple attacks on individuals and companies in at least 14 countries, including the UK. One of their most recent attacks targeted shipping and logistics companies aiming to compromise global supply chains. Former FBI agent Eric O'Neill says not only have Chinese hackers got into the American phone system, but most recently they hacked the treasury. We've known for quite some time that they are trying to embed themselves in all areas of our critical infrastructure, and they're playing the long game. They might be thinking ten, 20-30 years down the road when we tend to think here in the US every four years. Then the president changes. Chengdu is famed for two very different populations, the pandas. Which feature heavily in the city's advertising. And a covert community of hackers that have ignited cyber security alarms in governments around the world. Debbie Edward. News at 10 Chengdu.