Security News

Chinese Researcher Arrested for Destroying Evidence of Data Transfer to China
2020-08-31 17:35

A Chinese national was arrested in the United States for destroying evidence of possible transfer of sensitive data to China. The man, Guan Lei, 29, was a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was staying in the U.S. on a J-1 non-immigrant visa.

Thousands of Taiwan Government Email Accounts 'Hacked by China'
2020-08-19 13:29

Chinese hackers infiltrated at least 10 Taiwan government agencies and gained access to around 6,000 email accounts in an attempt to steal data, officials said Wednesday. The damage done was "Not small", according to a top Taiwan cyber official, who said the full impact was still being assessed.

China Slams US 'Abuse' Over New Huawei Sanctions
2020-08-18 18:21

Beijing on Tuesday hit out at new US sanctions against telecom giant Huawei, accusing Washington of an "Abuse of national power" to block the rise of Chinese companies. A US Commerce Department statement Monday barred an additional 38 Huawei affiliates from buying American computer chips and other technology.

Multiple Uninstallers Released for China-Linked 'GoldenSpy' Malware
2020-08-17 18:45

The GoldenSpy malware was initially detailed in late June, and was likely deployed since April 2020, via an official tax application that foreign companies doing business in China are required to install. In late June, soon after the initial report on GoldenSpy was published, the actors behind it leveraged the update mechanism within the tax software to deliver an uninstaller to the infected machines and completely remove the malware and additional artifacts, including the uninstaller.

US Adds Sanctions on China's Huawei to Limit Technology Access
2020-08-17 14:12

The US administration Monday expanded its sanctions on China's Huawei, a move aimed at further limiting the tech giant's access to computer chips and other technology. A Commerce Department statement added 38 Huawei affiliates around the world to the "Entity list," claiming that the company was using international subsidiaries to circumvent the sanctions which prevent export of US-based technology.

China-Linked 'CactusPete' Hackers Successful Despite Lack of Sophistication
2020-08-13 16:28

A Chinese threat actor tracked by Kaspersky as CactusPete was observed leveraging an updated backdoor in recent attacks targeting military and financial organizations in Eastern Europe. The adversary lacks sophistication, but has been relatively successful in attacks despite that, the security researchers say.

China now blocking ESNI-enabled TLS 1.3 connections, say Great-Firewall-watchers
2020-08-11 05:53

China is now blocking encrypted HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 with ESNI enabled, according to observers at the Great Firewall Report. While TLS hides the content of a user's communication, it cannot always hide the server they are communicating with because its handshake optionally contains a Server Name Indication field designed to explain where traffic is going.

China now blocking TLS 1.3 say Great-Firewall-watchers
2020-08-11 05:53

China is now blocking encrypted HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 with ESNI enabled, according to observers at the Great Firewall Report. While TLS hides the content of a user's communication, it cannot always hide the server they are communicating with because its handshake optionally contains a Server Name Indication field designed to explain where traffic is going.

Trump Moves on China Apps May Create New Internet 'Firewall'
2020-08-10 14:10

A ban by President Donald Trump's administration on Chinese mobile apps such as TikTok and WeChat risks fragmenting an already fragile global internet and creating an American version of China's "Great Firewall." Fears about the global internet ecosystem intensified this week with Trump's executive orders banning the popular video app TikTok and Chinese social network WeChat, following a US government directive to prohibit the use of other "Untrusted" applications and services from China.

China slams President Trump's TikTok banned-or-be-bought plan in the US
2020-08-05 06:27

China has accused the US of abusing its national security laws to target Chinese companies after Washington threatened to ban video-sharing app TikTok from its shores last week. On Saturday, the Trump administration vowed to "Close down" the Chinese-owned video-sharing app unless it is bought by a "Very American" company within 45 days.