Cyber

An Asian cyber-espionage group spent the past year breaking into computer systems linked to governments and critical infrastructure organizations in more than 37 countries, according to new research from Palo Alto Networks Inc. cited by Bloomberg. 

Chinese-language money laundering networks have become a central conduit for illicit cryptocurrency activity, processing an estimated 20% of known on-chain laundering over the past five years and accelerating far faster than illicit financial flows tied to centralized exchanges.

A loose ecosystem of young cybercriminals known as “the Com” is increasingly being linked to a widening range of online and real-world offenses, from ransomware-style corporate attacks to the hacking of Pornhub users’ data, according to The Guardian.

Google is suing an alleged Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group it says helped drive a sprawling phishing operation that targeted Americans with fraudulent text messages impersonating government agencies and major companies, NBC News reported.

The social-media giant Meta has tolerated widespread advertising fraud tied to Chinese customers in order to protect billions of dollars in revenue, even after internal teams repeatedly flagged the activity as problematic, Reuters reported. 

A top Democratic senator has warned that Chinese intelligence is still inside U.S. telecommunications networks as part of a sweeping cyber campaign known as “Salt Typhoon,” saying the operation gives Beijing access to the unencrypted communications of almost anyone in America, the Financial Times reported.

The United States, Britain and Australia have imposed coordinated sanctions on Russian technology companies and individuals accused of providing key online infrastructure for ransomware and other cyberattacks, Reuters reported. 

A former director at Trenchant, an L3Harris Technologies subsidiary that develops offensive cyber tools, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing and reselling trade secrets worth $35 million to a Russian broker whose clients include the Russian government, Bloomberg reported.

Nation-state hackers gained “long-term, persistent access” to systems at cybersecurity vendor F5 Inc., stealing portions of BIG-IP source code, internal vulnerability information, and limited customer configuration data, Bloomberg reported, citing regulatory filings. 

Microsoft is warning organizations about an active campaign dubbed “Payroll Pirate” that hijacks employee accounts on cloud HR platforms and diverts direct-deposit paychecks, Ars Technica reported.