Overseas groups will launch advanced and persistent cyberattacks on China's high-tech microchip and 5G sectors in 2023, according to a research report released on Tuesday.
According to the 2023 Advanced Persistent Threat Report released by Chinese cybersecurity firm 360, this new development is the result of a U.S. policy to block China's technological progress.
It added that the number of attacks targeting China's microchip and 5G industries increased significantly last year, with the U.S. Intelligence Agency (CIA) being one of the attackers.
Bian Liang, a 360 cybersecurity expert, said cyberattacks targeting these industries were backed by political forces with the obvious intent of suppressing China's technological development.
"While dealing with these kinds of attacks, we also need to find out the political forces behind them, so we can see the full picture," he said. ”
In 2023, the company detected more than 1,200 cyberattacks launched by 13 overseas APT groups. Attacks from the U.S. are state-of-the-art, the report says, as they can automatically and systematically take control of networks around the world, gaining access to critical data for military and political use.
The number of cyberattacks against overseas Chinese institutions and businesses also increased significantly last year, the report said.
It added that China must pay more attention to the cybersecurity of these institutions and companies, as they also hold key information about policy and data that is relevant to China's core interests.
In addition, there has been a marked increase in the number of cyberattacks launched to obtain data from China's geological surveys and mapping, which can be used by political forces to make strategic decisions, the report said.
In July last year, 360 reported a cyberattack from the United States on the Wuhan** monitoring center in Hubei province. Once its high-precision geological mapping data is leaked, it can be used to locate key energy and military targets, so the consequences of such an attack could be severe, it said.
More than 50 percent of the attacks the company uncovered last year occurred in the fields of education and scientific research, which have become key battlegrounds in China's fight against cyberattacks.
In some cases, attackers have even used the files and contact information they have stolen in order to launch precise attacks on their targets, the report said.
It added that in addition to the education sector, the defense and transport sectors have also become targets of the APT organization, it added.