Vietnam-linked hackers likely targeting sea row intel

MANILA: Hackers linked with the Vietnamese government are likely targeting Philippine government agencies to gather intelligence related to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea, cybersecurity company FireEye said.

That same group, which FireEye called APT32, was also responsible for attacking a Philippine consumer products corporation and a Philippine technology infrastructure firm last year, the company said in a media briefing yesterday.

Bryce Boland, the chief technology officer for AsiaPacific, said the company had observed that APT32 was targeting not just multinational companies and organisations doing business in Vietnam but Philippine government agencies as well.

“This is presumably to gain access to information about military preparation and understanding how the organisations within the government operate in order to be better prepared in case of potentially military conflict,” Boland said.

“There are overlapping claims between Vietnam and the Philippines over some islands in the South China Sea, and it is quite likely that intelligence gathering is starting around that,” Boland said.

Vietnam has strongly rejected allegations that it supports hacking.

“The government of Vietnam does not allow any form of cyberattacks against organisations or indi viduals,” foreign ministry spokesman Le Thi Thu Hang said earlier this month in response to similar accusations.

“All cyberattacks or threats to cybersecurity must be condemned and severely punished in accordance with regulations and laws.”

A spokesman for the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department did not immediately respond to a telephone call or text message requesting comment.

The Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei contest all or parts of the South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (RM21 trillion) in shipborne trade passes every year.

APT stands for advanced persistent threat, a term usually reserved for statesponsored hacker groups.

“We believe all of the activities of APT32 are aligned to the interests of the Vietnamese government,” Boland said. — Reuters