http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120103_5731.php By Aliya Sternstein NextGov 01/03/2012 China-based hackers for months have been targeting federal agencies and contractors through infected emails apparently to spy on the Pentagon's drone strategy and other intelligence matters, according to Internet security researchers. The reported espionage employed a tactic known as spear-phishing where infiltrators, operating under the guise of a legitimate sender, email specific victims a virus-laden file or link. In this case, the hackers used email addresses from military and other government organizations, Jaime Blasco, manager of AlienVault Labs, said Tuesday. Some emails went to employees at U.S. military contractors, he said, but declined to discuss any information related to specific victims. The lab traced samples of the malicious software to network addresses in China, AlienVault disclosed last month. Blasco has since discovered from the same spies separate malware that is capable of overriding Pentagon smart card credentials, known as the Common Access Card, to get into protected resources, he said Tuesday. In addition, the intruders have been pursuing other government organizations with information of interest to Chinese intelligence operations -- including the General Services Administration, the U.S. government's buying arm, and the Central Tibetan Administration. [...] _____________________________________________________ Did a friend send you this article? Make it your New Year's Resolution to subscribe to InfoSec News! http://www.infosecnews.org/mailman/listinfo/isnReceived on Wed Jan 04 2012 - 00:31:56 PST
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