Australia has publicly denounced a hacker group supported by the Chinese government.
The cybercriminals stole hundreds of unique usernames and passwords in a hacking attack in April 2022.
It is the first time that Australia has taken the initiative to identify a notorious group known as APT40, which acted on behalf of the Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China.
According to a report on APT40 published on Tuesday, the hackers prefer to exploit “vulnerable, publicly accessible infrastructure” to illegally obtain passwords and other credentials through phishing campaigns.
In addition to Australia, the members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (Canada, New Zealand, the USA and the United Kingdom) as well as Germany and – for the first time in a historical development – the Republic of Korea and Japan were involved in the preparation of the report.
Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Clare O’Neil said cyberattacks by foreign governments were one of the “biggest threats” facing Australia.
“Our intelligence agencies work tirelessly every day to identify and stop these actors,” she said.
“We often face the same cyber threats, and through alerts like this, we can pool our collective knowledge and reach the widest possible audience.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the operation strengthened Australia’s position and influence on the world stage.
“The Albanese government is increasing Australia’s diplomatic, economic and defence engagement with Japan and Korea, as well as with Southeast Asia, with India, with the Quad and through AUKUS,” she said.