Cyber-Espionage Group Breached Systems in 37 Nations, Security Researchers Say (msn.com)
(Sunday February 08, 2026 @11:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the bad-breaches dept.)
- Reference: 0180756022
- News link: https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/02/08/0649245/cyber-espionage-group-breached-systems-in-37-nations-security-researchers-say
- Source link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/hackers-hit-sensitive-targets-in-37-nations-in-spying-plot/ar-AA1VJ4tB
An anonymous reader shared [1]this report from Bloomberg :
> An Asian cyber-espionage group has spent the past year breaking into computer systems belonging to governments and critical infrastructure organizations in more than 37 countries, according to the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, Inc. The state-aligned attackers have infiltrated networks of 70 organizations, including five national law enforcement and border control agencies, according to a new research report from the company. They have also breached three ministries of finance, one country's parliament and a senior elected official in another, the report states. The Santa Clara, California-based firm declined to identify the hackers' country of origin.
>
> The spying operation was unusually vast and allowed the hackers to hoover up sensitive information in apparent coordination with geopolitical events, such as diplomatic missions, trade negotiations, political unrest and military actions, according to the report. They used that access to spy on emails, financial dealings and communications about military and police operations, the report states. The hackers also stole information about diplomatic issues, lurking undetected in some systems for months. "They use highly-targeted and tailored fake emails and known, unpatched security flaws to gain access to these networks," said Pete Renals, director of national security programs with Unit 42, the threat intelligence division of Palo Alto Networks....
>
> Palo Alto Networks researchers confirmed that the group successfully accessed and exfiltrated sensitive data from some victims' email servers.
Bloomberg writes that according to the cybersecurity firm, this campaign targeted government entities in the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil, and also "likely compromised" a device associated with a facility operated by a joint venture between Venezuela's government and an Asian tech firm.
The cyberattackers are "also suspected of being active in Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Panama, Greece and other countries, according to the report."
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/hackers-hit-sensitive-targets-in-37-nations-in-spying-plot/ar-AA1VJ4tB
> An Asian cyber-espionage group has spent the past year breaking into computer systems belonging to governments and critical infrastructure organizations in more than 37 countries, according to the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, Inc. The state-aligned attackers have infiltrated networks of 70 organizations, including five national law enforcement and border control agencies, according to a new research report from the company. They have also breached three ministries of finance, one country's parliament and a senior elected official in another, the report states. The Santa Clara, California-based firm declined to identify the hackers' country of origin.
>
> The spying operation was unusually vast and allowed the hackers to hoover up sensitive information in apparent coordination with geopolitical events, such as diplomatic missions, trade negotiations, political unrest and military actions, according to the report. They used that access to spy on emails, financial dealings and communications about military and police operations, the report states. The hackers also stole information about diplomatic issues, lurking undetected in some systems for months. "They use highly-targeted and tailored fake emails and known, unpatched security flaws to gain access to these networks," said Pete Renals, director of national security programs with Unit 42, the threat intelligence division of Palo Alto Networks....
>
> Palo Alto Networks researchers confirmed that the group successfully accessed and exfiltrated sensitive data from some victims' email servers.
Bloomberg writes that according to the cybersecurity firm, this campaign targeted government entities in the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil, and also "likely compromised" a device associated with a facility operated by a joint venture between Venezuela's government and an Asian tech firm.
The cyberattackers are "also suspected of being active in Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Panama, Greece and other countries, according to the report."
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/hackers-hit-sensitive-targets-in-37-nations-in-spying-plot/ar-AA1VJ4tB
Geography (Score:2)
by pele ( 151312 )
Last time I checked Israel was in Asia. What else is new?
Re: (Score:2)
by Teun ( 17872 )
In the day our company had to decide which base would support operations in Israel, the decision was made on the fact Israel takes part in the Euro vision Song Festival, meaning the EU base got the jobs.
Re: Geography (Score:2)
by pele ( 151312 )
Australia also participates in eurovision....
EAAS (Score:2)
Espionage As A Service.
Industrial espionage is already a business. It's not a great leap in logic to expect that nations will outsource their efforts rather than run it in-house.