Computer crimes of various kinds have emerged as a major risk factor in the modern world where societies’ economies and security depend on the internet. These attacks can be described as criminal assaults planned by an individual or an organization with the aim of gaining unlawful access to information systems for unlawful ends which include theft of classified information, disruption of business, or destruction of computer systems.
It could be said that China is one of the most prolific and at the same time most skilled players in the unusual field of cyber incidents and warfare. Cyber attacks from China have been carried out on numerous countries and different sectors, clearly showing an increasing capacity and continuous attempts. Crucially, awareness of these cyber attacks, their approaches, famous cases, and how to guard against them, strengthens the global cybersecurity system.
Cyber attacks originating from China are relatively advanced and integrate the most modern technologies. Such assaults are often carried out with a mixture of attacks and methodologies whose main focus is on certain goals such as spying, theft, or sabotage of vital systems.
Methods And Techniques
Phishing and Spear Phishing
This is a frequent practice in which attackers just spam the targeted individuals, sending emails that appear legitimate in order to elicit some incriminating or sensitive information from the receiver or deliver malware to computer networks. Spear phishing is more subtle than the other types of phishing as it is a targeted attack, most probably towards a specific person or an organization.
Malware and Ransomware
Chinese cyber attackers often employ the use of malware for the purpose of gaining access, gathering sensitive information or disruption. Ransomware is a category of malware; it secretly encrypts the victim’s data and requires money to unencrypt it. APTs refer to sophisticated malware that are strategically deployed for long-term espionage.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks
The goal of these types of attacks is to flood the network or website of the prospective victim with traffic to make the services offered by the attacked party unavailable. DDoS attacks are difficult to counter due to their scope and distribution of activity.
Zero-Day Exploits
These include hacking other people by taking advantage of the default weaknesses or flaws of a particular software or hardware set before the original producer can come up with the antidote to the problem. China also has a history of employing its hackers to search for and to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in order to infiltrate systems.
Advanced Malware
‘Hidden Lynx’ and ‘PlugX’ are highly developed examples of malware employed by Chinese hackers for intelligence and piracy purposes. These tools are relatively stealthy and are capable of having a fairly long duration of access to the computer systems that have been targeted.
Botnets
In the case of DDoS attacks, botnets of infected devices are frequently used to create large volumes of traffic. The cyber attackers from China are known to be controlling vast numbers of malware that disrupt services across the world.
Remote Access Trojans (RATs)
‘Gh0st RAT’ is one of the more known RATs because it gives real-time control to the attacker over the victim’s computer and also allows them to transfer files out of the victim’s computer, set more malware onto the system, and spy on the activities.
Encryption and Obfuscation Techniques
To remain invisible, Chinese cyber attackers use mechanisms such as encryption and anonymizing to conceal what they do and what they take.
Chinese cybercriminals have attacked many nations and industries, and the following are some of the most noteworthy incidents, profiling the situations and effects found.
Chinese Cyber Attacks on the US
Operation Aurora (2009)
Operation Aurora was one of the earliest and most well-known Chinese cyber attacks on the US that targeted Google, Adobe, and some of the key companies in the USA including Northrop Grumman. The attack was meant to subsist intellectual assets as well as trade secrets; this resulted in massive strategic loss.
OPM Data Breach (2015)
The OPM breach affected a large number of US government employees where their personal and sensitive information was stolen. This attack identified the weaknesses of the governmental databases and the threats posed by identification theft and espionage.
Equifax Data Breach (2017)
Chinese hackers were found to be behind a cyber attack on the Equifax firm (a credit reporting bureau), which released the personal information of as many as 147 million Americans. It also pointed to the vulnerability of private business’ databases in addition to the prospects of massive identity theft.
Chinese Cyber Attacks On Australia
Australian National University (ANU) Attack (2018)
A widespread ANU attack on personal and research data, including emails. This attack was a wake-up call to academic institutions and researchers regarding the security of their infrastructure as well as the integrity of their research.
Attack on Australian Parliament
The Australian Parliament was targeted by a cyber attack from Chinese actors affecting the networks connected to major political parties. This incident once again highlighted the vulnerabilities of democracy and political steadiness.
Health Sector Attacks (2020)
During the recent COVID-19 crisis, cyber actors from China sought to hack into the Australian healthcare organizations with a view of accessing information about vaccines and public health interventions.
Chinese Cyber Attacks On India
Power Grid Attack (2020)
Chinese hackers were accused of compromising India’s power grid, tripping out Mumbai. It underlined the weaknesses of crucial assets and society’s exposure to attacks on vital facilities to provide vital services.
Indian Government Websites (2021)
Various Indian websites owned and managed by the government were compromised by Chinese hackers and most of them were either attacked, had their databases hacked or were defaced. Such attacks underscored a continuous state of cyberspace war between the two countries and the necessity to strengthen the cybersecurity processes.
E-Commerce Sector (2021)
Chinese cyber attackers identified Indian e-commerce web platforms, stole customers' information, and interrupted the services. This attack showed how cyber risks were not only disruptive but costly to the young digital economy.
Preventing and counteracting cyber targets and information threats is crucial for maintaining national security, economic stability, and the citizens’ confidence.
Protect Sensitive Information
Prevention of hackers who intend to steal sensitive customer information, computerized properties, or even state secrets is very crucial in the early detection of cyber attacks.
Ensure Operational Continuity
Cyber threat identification and prevention makes certain that important services and assets are secure, preventing contamination of infiltration that can lead to economic loss as well as service disruptions.
Preserve Public Trust
Cybersecurity keeps the citizens’ trust in online services, authorities, as well as the security of cyberspace itself.
OSAVUL, a very helpful technology used in monitoring disinformation threats and cyber attacks, is one of the foremost weapons in this fight. There are numerous benefits that OSAVUL provides, and all of them would equal to being a crucial asset for a company, government, and various other organizations.
Real-Time Monitoring
OSAVUL constantly monitors cyberspace for threats and disinformation activities and shares timely information and notifications.
Comprehensive Analysis
A large volume of data collected from different sources is processed by the platform to help define patterns and emerging threats, the latter helping to prevent attacks.
Threat Intelligence
OSAVUL centralizes the data collected from various threat intelligence sources and helps improve situational awareness.
Automated Response
Thanks to the function of automated response, it is possible to provide an immediate counteraction and prevent potential damages within the shortest time.
Customizable Reports
From the collected data, users will be able to create more specific reports that will be useful for the organization to come up with more effective strategies. Through such features, OSAVUL assists organizations in preventing and mitigating cyber threats, thus improving the organizations’ cybersecurity and protection capacities.
Chinese cyber attacks remain one of the real threats to international cyber security. It is critical to comprehend the tactics, well-known occurrences, and consequences of such assaults to design strategies to counteract them.
To deal with cyber threats it is necessary to apply coordinated and independent solutions for constant monitoring, multifaceted analysis, and prevention. Instruments such as OSAVUL are highly significant to reinforce cybersecurity as they help to equip respondents with more opportunities to identify and prevent dangers.
In today’s environment, such threats and risks are on the rise, so it is critical to be cautious and savvy to information, maintain the operations, and to maintain the confidence of people. It means organizations need to stay up to date with information and have access to modern cybersecurity tools to be ready for the constant threat of cyber spies.
