Chinese hackers graduating to identity theft
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Groups in China continue to target Western interests, but there has been a shift in focus from the theft of intellectual property to identity information as well, says a report issued by Hewlett-Packard Co.
The report issued by the Palo Alto, California-based information technology firm said one high-profile example of this involved Indianapolis-based Community Health Systems Inc., which disclosed a breach, allegedly by a China-based group known as APT 18, in which Social Security numbers and other personal information of 4.5 million patients was compromised.
There was also state-sponsored or state-condoned cyber activity of actors in Iran, North Korea and Turkey, according to the report, “HP Security Research, Cyber Risk Report 2015,” issued Monday.
Malware threats were among other topics discussed in the report. “In 2014, the malware problem continued unabated, and while the anti-malware industry has introduced multiple new approaches to the issues it faces, the impact of those measures on the security of organizations and the public is questionable,” it states.
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