Chinese hackers are said to attack 27 universities in the United States and several other countries. What are you looking for from hacking?
In a report issued by a cybersecurity company called iDefense, the hacker was looking for access to the results of maritime military research that was allegedly stored on the servers of these universities.
Hacking groups that infiltrate have many names, such as Temp.Periscope, Mudcarp, and Leviathan. There is no connection from the group to the Chinese government, but because the target is US military data, analysts at iDefense consider the hacker action sponsored by the Chinese government.
The method used by hackers to infiltrate is to send spear phishing emails, which make it visible to be sent by the partner of the university. If the document or e-mail is opened, predictably, the malware inside will act and infiltrate the university’s network.
The university is the target of hackers because in general it is easier to be infiltrated than military contractors, both of whom both store the results of sought military research, as quoted from The Verge on Wednesday (03/06/2019).
Some universities targeted by hackers include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Washington, and a number of campuses in Canada and Southeast Asia.
This cyber attack is focused on universities that conduct research on subsea technology, or simply have faculties with backgrounds related to that research.