🔺 EXCLUSIVE: China staged a huge cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities in the build-up to Russia’s invasion, according to intelligence memos obtained by The Times
https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1509934555591024664

China accused of hacking Ukraine days before Russian invasion

Ukrainian intelligence suggests Beijing is complicit in Putin’s war

China staged a huge cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities in the build-up to Russia’s invasion, according to intelligence memos obtained by The Times.

More than 600 websites belonging to the defence ministry in Kyiv and other institutions suffered thousands of hacking attempts which were co-ordinated by the Chinese government, according to Ukraine’s security service, the SBU.

More: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-cyberattack-ukraine-z9gfkbmgf?utm

More than 600 websites belonging to the defence ministry in Kyiv and other institutions suffered thousands of hacking attempts which were co-ordinated by the Chinese government, according to Ukraine’s security service, the SBU

In an apparent sign of complicity in the invasion, the spy agency revealed that Chinese attacks started before the end of the Winter Olympics and peaked on February 23, the day before Russian troops and tanks crossed the border

The SBU said China’s attacks sought to infiltrate targets ranging from border defence forces to the national bank and railway authority. They were designed to steal data and explore ways to shut down or disrupt vital defence and civilian infrastructure

Russia also tried to cripple Ukraine’s computer networks and compromise government websites before invading, but the SBU said Chinese attacks could be distinguished by the trademark tools and methods of the cyberwarfare unit of the People’s Liberation Army

US intelligence sources indicated that the information about a Chinese cyberattack on Ukrainian government facilities prior to the Russian invasion was accurate. The Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment

Beijing has refused to condemn President Putin for invading Ukraine.

Analysts said that China could be punished with western sanctions if it was proven to be supporting the war

The SBU shared with The Times a series of intelligence memos, thought to be prepared by another country, that lay out the scale and ambition of the hack

They identified key military targets such as the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council and the State Border Guard Service, as well as civilian services including the national bank and ministry of finance. One memo laid out an attack on Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure