China-based spies target Thailand
- Published: 30/03/2009 at 02:45 AM
- Online news: World
Canadian intelligence experts have unearthed a huge computer-controlled espionage ring, based in China while targetting Thailand and 102 other countries, according to the Canadian institute and The New York Times.
One target of the hackers in China was the Thai embassy in the Philippines, where at least one computer with classified information was inflitrated. Another victim the Asean secretariat, along with unspecified news organisations.
The Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto reported that the computer-based electronic spying run out of China had infiltrated at least 1,295 computers and stolen documents from embassies, ministries and government offices in 103 countries, plus the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York.
In addition to the MCIS, the 10-month investigation included Canada's Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) and the Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group
Their report, Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network, said the operation is still going strong. It continues to invade and monitor more than a dozen new computers a week, the researchers said. (story continues below illustration)
Once the hackers infiltrated the systems, they gained control using malware - illicit software installed on the compromised computers - and used them to send and receive data.
In addition to Thailand, hacked systems were discovered in embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan. Ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan appear to have been targeted.
The Canadians called the espionage operation "China-based cyber spies," but stopped short of pinning it directly on the Chinese government.
China explained that Beijing could not be involved because China "strictly forbids any cyber crime".
According to the report in The New York Times, the Munk Centre is uncertain and cautious about who is behind the ring. "This could well be the CIA or the Russians. It's a murky realm that we're lifting the lid on," it quoted Ronald Deibert, a member of the research group and an associate professor of political science, as saying.
The counter-intelligence operation by the Toronto researchers began when the office of the Dalai Lama asked the Canadian researchers to examine its computers for signs of malicious software, or malware.
According to the Times, ``Their sleuthing opened a window into a broader operation.''
The Centre, which has an extensive background in detecting computer espionage, discovered a spy system the Canadians dubbed GhostNet.
It has not released details of all the countries involved and just how they were affected, but confirmed that Thailand was one of the countries on the target list.
The researchers, who have a record of detecting computer espionage, said they believed that in addition to spying on the Dalai Lama, the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.
They found a Nato computer was monitored by the spies for half a day, and discovered computers of the Indian embassy in Washington were infiltrated.
The malware is remarkable both for its sweep - in computer jargon, it has not been merely "phishing" for random consumers' information, but "whaling" for particular important targets - and for its Big Brother-style capacities.
It can, for example, turn on the camera and audio-recording functions of an infected computer, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room.
Working with the Tibetans, the researchers found specific correspondence had been stolen and the intruders had gained control of the electronic mail server computers of the Dalai Lama's organization.
The electronic spy game has had at least some real-world impact, they said. For example, after an email invitation was sent by the Dalai Lama's office to a foreign diplomat, Beijing made a call to the diplomat discouraging a visit.
In another case, a woman working for a group making Internet contacts between Tibetan exiles and Chinese citizens was stopped by Chinese intelligence officers on her way back to Tibet and shown transcripts of her online conversations. (Compiled by BangkokPost.com from the Munk Centre and media reports)
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