Chinese hackers target political issues, universities in Taiwan, Hong Kong: Report

Chinese hackers are targeting political issues and universities in Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to Microsoft's 2021 Digital Defense Report. As per report, which covered period between July 2020 and June 2021, government entities account for 47% of hackers' targets, reported Taiwan Times. "Chromium" cyber activity group targeted important social, economic, and political concerns surrounding Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as China's neighbours India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Thailand. Chromium was actively targeting universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as y serve as centres for Beijing resistance groups. Besides, y also targeted government bodies and telecommunication providers in or nations, claimed report.

report suggests that Chinese nation-state hackers are not only interested in stealing intellectual property, but also "target US political environment for insight into policy movements. It also stated that y will continue to be a concern to entities seeking intelligence on investments and discussions related to China's Belt and Ro Initiative. However, China did not even come close to being at top of list for majority of cyber-attacks launched as Russia accounted for 58% of state-sponsored hacking in past year.  It largely targeted government agencies and think tanks in United States, followed by Ukraine, United Kingdom, and European NATO allies, claimed Microsoft's report. 

'Russian state-backed hackers' success rate surged to 32%'

long-unnoticed SolarWinds hack - which mostly targeted information technology companies like Microsoft - pushed Russian state-backed hackers' success rate to 32% this year, up from 21% year before. China, on or hand, accounted for less than one out of every ten state-sponsored hacking attempts detected by Microsoft, but was successful 44 % of time in breaking into targeted networks. report stated that Ransomware attacks are a severe and growing problem, with United States by far most targeted country. se attacks are usually criminal and financially motivated. State-sponsored hacking, on or hand, is mainly about acquiring intelligence - wher for national security, commercial, or geopolitical gain - and is thus widely condoned by governments, with US cyber operators among most skilled. Microsoft's report, which works closely with Washington government agencies, does not dress government hacking in United States, reported Associated Press (AP). 

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