A hacker group that target government institutions as well as private corporations that operate in Southeast Asia has been recently unveiled, according to Fire Eye Inc. The group has been operating for at least a decade and marks one of the highly effective hacking campaign ever recorded.
The group known as APT30 manage to infiltrate computer system of at least 15 companies that deals in communication, finance, technology and aviation. Additional report claim that India's military network was also targeted by the group.
FireEye, the company that first detected the hacking activities of the group, said that after close investigation of the software code and language used during hacking attacks show that it was developed in China. However, no concrete evidence could point out that the attack came from China.
The Chinese government completely deny allegations of its supposed participation to the hacking attack, according to Bloomberg.
FireEye chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific Bryce Boland said, "Given the types of targets as well as how the victims were targeted and who the targets were, what was being sought was clearly relevant to Chinese National interests. All indications point to the Chinese government, I just don't have a smoking gun."
APT30's hacking strategy involves the distribution of malicious programs, called malwares, which if successfully integrated into a computer will give hackers complete access into it. Among the malicious programs used by APT30 are the following: Backspace, Neteagle, Shipshape, Spaceship and Flashflood. Once one of these programs is installed into a computer, it will automatically target files that are political, military and economic in nature.
However, APT30's most sophisticated attack target computers that are not directly connected to the internet. It shows that the group has a particular set of skill that allows them to completely exploit USB flash drives in order to spread the malware.
Latest reports show that not a single member of APT30 has been identified.