APT10: What do we know about the alleged Chinese hacking group?
- According to the US Justice Department, two Chinese men and their associates have been hacking into state and commercial computer networks for more than a decade
- List of victims reads like a who’s who of the global economy, FBI director says
The United States has charged two Chinese men with orchestrating cyber hacking attacks against scores of companies and government agencies in the US and around the world for more than a decade.
According to the US Department of Justice, Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong acted on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security in coordinating espionage activity through a hacking group known as APT10, to steal trade secrets and technologies from at least 12 countries.
Beijing responded to the charges by accusing Washington of cyber hacking, but what do we actually know about the case?
Who are the alleged hackers?
APT10 – or Advanced Persistent Threat 10 – is the name given to a group of Chinese hackers first identified by US cybersecurity firm FireEye.
Widely known within the cybersecurity community, the group is one of several that share the “APT” tag, indicating their willingness to pursue targets over long periods of time. APT10 also goes by the names “Red Apollo” and “Stone Panda”.
According to FBI director Christopher Wray, Zhu and Zhang acted on behalf of China’s state security bureau from a base in Tianjin, a major port city about 130km (80 miles) southeast of the capital Beijing.
