Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Hackers Turned Defense Contractor QinetiQ Into Intelligence Playground

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    May 3, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      For more than three years, hackers linked to China thoroughly compromised U.K.-based QinetiQ, a firm that bills itself as “a world leading defense technology and security company,” to steal intellectual property and sensitive defense information, according to reports of the incident.

      The long-running breach resulted in numerous visits from federal investigators from December 2007 until late 2010, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the massive compromise. The incident, spelled out in emails leaked from security firm HBGary in 2011, resulted in large swaths of data on sensitive technologies–such as drones and military helicopters—getting transmitted overseas.

      “The scary part of this particular type of intrusion is you are no longer talking about business interests and intellectual property, but about national security, and that raises the stakes quite a bit,” said Alex Cox, principal research analyst for RSA’s FirstWatch incident response group.

      The report is the latest evidence linking compromises at defense and critical-infrastructure companies to a Chinese group known as the “Comment Crew.” In February, incident response firm Mandiant released a report identifying the group as the source of more than 140 incidents of espionage investigated by the firm since 2006. The group is a part of the People’s Liberation Army known as Unit 61398, Mandiant said.

      It’s one of several espionage groups backed by nation-states known within defense and security circles as specialists in advanced persistent threats (APTs). In January, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal revealed that hackers thought to be from China had compromised their networks.

      The widespread attacks on sensitive corporate and government organizations had top U.S. cyber-officials ranking the threat above terrorism, in terms the threat posed to U.S. interests. In March, the director of National Intelligence and the head of the U.S. Cyber Command both warned of the danger of the ongoing espionage.

      In the recently reported incident, QinetiQ suffered a number of attacks over three years. A July 2010 report, leaked from security firm HBGary by hacktivists linked to Anonymous, discussed two of the attacks that resulted in the compromise of at least 71 systems—about 3.5 percent of systems investigated.

      Among the tools used by the hackers to control compromised systems was a remote access Trojan (RAT) known as “lprinp.dll,” the report stated.

      “It is a well known and used variety of malware that is customized and built from source code (that is, not an attack toolkit/generator),” the report stated. “HBGary believes this malware strain to be tightly coupled to a Chinese hacking group that targets the DoD and its contractors. HBGary has code-named this threat group as ‘Soysauce.’ This group is also known as ‘Comment Crew’ by some.”

      The chain of compromises of QinetiQ’s network stretched back to December 2007, when the Naval Criminal Investigative Service contacted the company and notified them that two of their employees had lost information to hackers, according to the Bloomberg article. Over the next three year, the company called in a succession of security contractors but limited their investigations and failed to take adequate steps to stop the attacks, the report stated.

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×