A coordinated cyberattack, which most likely originated in China, hit dozens of Israeli government and private organizations, according to an announcement Monday by the international cybersecurity company FireEye.
This is the first documented case of a large-scale Chinese attack on Israel. It was part of a broader campaign that targeted many other countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Thailand. FireEye has been monitoring the operation for two years.
A coordinated cyberattack, which most likely originated in China, hit dozens of Israeli government and private organizations, according to an announcement Monday by the international cybersecurity company FireEye.
This is the first documented case of a large-scale Chinese attack on Israel. It was part of a broader campaign that targeted many other countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Thailand. FireEye has been monitoring the operation for two years.
By analyzing the hacking tools used and comparing them to similar attacks in the past, FireEye concluded that Chinese intel services and their Ministry of State Security was behind the attack.
IT companies were particularly sought-after targets because they are what is known as a supply chain threat – meaning that through them, the hackers can reach many other companies. The attacks were aimed at stealing know-how, commercial secrets and business intelligence.
