Security News > 2020 > July > Vatican Allegedly Hacked by China Ahead of Key Talks
The Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong have been the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed hackers ahead of talks on renewal of a landmark 2018 deal that helped thaw diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China, according to a monitoring group.
Recorded Future said that the Hong Kong Study Mission to China - a key link between the Vatican and China - and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions also were targeted.
They included an apparent phishing attempt with a document on Vatican Secretariat of State letterhead directed to the head of the Hong Kong Study Mission to China.
A landmark 2018 deal between the Holy See and China on bishop nominations was aimed at uniting the flock, regularizing the status of seven bishops who were not recognized by Rome and thawing decades of estrangement between China and the Vatican.
China routinely denies engaging in a state-sponsored program to steal commercial secrets or sensitive government information over the internet, and says it is among the biggest victims of hacking attacks.