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The
joint advisory, which also came from the U.S. Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency and its Japanese counterpart,
urged firms to review the internet routers at their subsidiaries
to minimize the risk of potential attack from the group.
"BlackTech has demonstrated capabilities in modifying router
firmware without detection and exploiting routers’ domain-trust
relationships to pivot from international subsidiaries to
headquarters in Japan and the United States, which are the
primary targets," the statement said.
BlackTech has been engaging in cyberattacks on governments and
tech-sector companies in the United States and East Asia since
around 2010, Japan's National Police Agency said in a separate
statement.
In 2020, self-ruled Taiwan's security authority reported
cyberattacks to some 6,000 government officials' email accounts
from Blacktech and another hacking group Taidoor, saying both
were likely backed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Amid heightening U.S.-China tensions over issues including
Taiwan, U.S. security officials are raising the tone of their
warnings against China's cyberattack capabilities. FBI chief
Chris Wray earlier this month said China "has a bigger hacking
program than every other major nation combined".
In May, cybersecurity authorities of Australia, Canada, New
Zealand and the United Kingdom joined the U.S. agencies in
issuing an advisory on China's "state-sponsored cyber actor".
Japan, a key U.S. ally in East Asia along with South Korea, was
allegedly attacked by Chinese military hackers that gained
access to its classified defense networks in 2020, the
Washington Post said last month. The Pentagon said it was
confident about sharing intelligence with Japan despite the
report.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Michael Perry)
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