China says U.S. hackers target its military websites

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

While the Obama administration has condemned ongoing cyberattacks against U.S. institutions believed to originate with the Chinese military, China Thursday claimed it was a two-way street. China's defense minister said Thursday that of the approximately 1.7 million cyberattacks launched against two of its military websites last year, two-thirds came from the U.S..

"The defence ministry and China military online websites have faced a serious threat from hacking attacks since they were established, and the number of hacks has risen steadily in recent years," said a ministry spokesman, Geng Yansheng, on Thursday according to Reuters."According to the IP addresses, the websites were, in 2012, hacked on average from overseas 144,000 times a month, of which attacks from the US accounted for 62.9 percent."

China has called "groundless" claims that one of its military is responsible for hacks against U.S. corporations, newspapers and government sites, but evidence gathered by security firm Mandiant reportedly points strongly to one People’s Liberation Army unit based in the outskirts of Shanghai.

Chinese army unit tied to hacks on U.S.

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, when the New York Times reported that it had been the target of hacks from China, the paper noted that the attacks were likely connected to the Chinese military. On Tuesday, the Times reported that, based on evidence confirmed by U.S. intelligence officials, there is "little doubt" that "an overwhelming percentage of the attacks on American corporations, organizations and government agencies" originate from one People’s Liberation Army unit based in the outskirts of Shanghai.

A study released Tuesday by U.S. security firm Mandiant identified PLA Unit 61398 as the most likely perpetrators of the hacks. Mandiant had been tracking hacks perpetrated by the so-called "Comment Crew" for over six years before concluding that the hackers were part of Unit 61398. Via the Times:

Salon.com > pla

China says U.S. hackers target its military websites

Chinese army unit tied to hacks on U.S.