"Targets of a Year-Long Cyberattack Include Australian Politicians And Businesses"
Researchers at Proofpoint revealed that Australian government agencies and businesses had been the target of a sophisticated year-long espionage campaign. According to a Proofpoint report, the hackers are named Red Ladon or Leviathan and are closely associated with the Chinese government's security services. Victims are directed to fraudulent news websites that install malware on their computers. This malware could allow hackers to access details such as the victim's browser or the type of device they are using, which would be useful for future attacks. Australian government officials, as well as those in the energy, shipbuilding, and financial services industries, were the primary targets, according to Proofpoint. The threat actor created a media site that scraped news from the BBC in order to appear legitimate. They made up fake people and names seeming to be Australian. The amount of effort put into making the attack appear real demonstrates the level of sophistication that would be expected from a cyber espionage group sponsored by a country such as China. The Chinese government has not responded to inquiries about the hack. Tensions between Australia and China have been high in recent years. This article continues to discuss the year-long espionage effort targeting Australian government agencies and businesses.