China Discovers Malicious Foreign Websites Used in Cyberattacks

The National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team of China (CNERT/CC) announced on Monday that they have detected a range of malicious foreign websites and IP addresses linked to hacking groups conducting cyberattacks against China and other nations. The statement shared through their official WeChat account highlights that these harmful sites are connected to specific Trojan software and their respective command-and-control servers, noting that the attacks include botnet creation and the exploitation of vulnerabilities through backdoors. These activities pose a considerable risk to China's networked institutions and internet users.

The report indicated that the identified malicious entities predominantly originate from countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, South Africa, and Lithuania. Qin An, the head of the Institute of China Cyberspace Strategy based in Beijing, pointed out that the techniques used in these cyberattacks are basic and not particularly sophisticated, involving standard tactics like deploying Trojan programs and utilizing command-and-control servers. Despite their simplicity, Qin emphasized the importance of recognizing the malicious intent behind these coordinated attacks.

Qin also urged that China must adopt stronger measures beyond merely issuing warnings. He proposed that the government should pursue and penalize those hackers responsible for these attacks in order to establish a firm deterrence message against future threats.