Chinese cyber spies
broaden attacks in Vietnam, security firm says
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[August 31, 2017]
By Matthew Tostevin
(Reuters) - Cyber spies working for or on
behalf of China's government have broadened attacks against official and
corporate targets in Vietnam at a time of raised tension over the South
China Sea, cyber security company FireEye said.
FireEye told Reuters the attacks happened in recent weeks and it had
traced them back to suspected Chinese cyber spies based partly on the
fact that a Chinese group it had identified previously had used the same
infrastructure before.
"Where China has often focused on the government before, this shows they
are really hitting the full commercial sector potentially in Vietnam and
trying to gather a broad base of information there," said Ben Read, who
heads FireEye's cyber espionage team.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China opposed all
forms of illegal internet activities or stealing of secrets and also
opposed any accusations from any side against any country on the issue
without cast-iron proof.
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Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said cyber
attacks should be severely punished in accordance with the law and that
it was important for countries to secure their networks.
Vietnam denies allowing cyber espionage although it has also been
accused by FireEye of carrying out attacks.
STRAINS
Tension between China and neighboring Vietnam is at its highest in three
years over the disputed South China Sea, where Vietnam has emerged as
the most vocal opponents of Beijing's extensive claims.
Vietnam suspended oil drilling in offshore waters that are also claimed
by China in July under pressure from Beijing.
China has appeared uneasy at Vietnam's efforts to rally Southeast Asian
countries over the South China Sea as well as at its growing defense
relationships with the United States, Japan and India.
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A man holds a laptop
computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration
picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Aug/31/images/ads/current/cca_lda_BACKTOSCHOOL_2017.png)
China claims nearly all the South China Sea, through which an estimated
$3 trillion in international trade passes each year. Brunei, Malaysia,
the Philippines and Taiwan also have claims.
FireEye said the attacks in Vietnam involved sending users documents in
Vietnamese which appeared to be requests for financial information. A
broad range of companies appeared to have been targeted, including
financial institutions, it said without giving specific details.
When the user opened them, they delivered malware which could infect a
computer and send back information to the cyber spies, potentially
letting them into the computer network too.
FireEye linked the attacks to a team it calls Conimes because in the
past it used the conimes.com domain. The team focuses on Southeast Asia,
but its main target is Vietnam and even more so since tensions rose over
the South China Sea, Read said.
He was unable to say exactly what information had been gathered.
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang called earlier this month for
tighter Internet controls to provide better protection against cyber
threats as well as to prevent websites and social media publishing
material damaging to the communist party.
Read said the attacks it had discovered on Vietnam were relatively
unsophisticated and relied on users having pre-2012 versions of
Microsoft Word.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Aug/26/images/ads/current/ldn_medical_directory_small_2016.png)
"They are using comparatively simple techniques because apparently they
work," he said.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick
Macfie)
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