Hackers Hit Macau Government Website

Chinese official media announced late Wednesday that authorities are investigating the hacking of several Macau government websites by hackers

The websites of the public security police, the fire services department, the security forces services bureau, and the office of the secretary for security were all impacted by the intrusion, according to security officials of the Macau Special Administrative Region’s government.

According to a CCTV report, authorities and telecom operators collaborated to restore the affected services promptly. The report also indicates that officials think the cyberintrusion originated from a foreign country.

Additional information regarding this security breach was not disclosed.

A phishing campaign that impersonated the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China was recently reported to have targeted Chinese citizens by embedding QR codes in false official documents.

The campaign implemented identity verification and authentication procedures to acquire users’ passwords and bank card information.

The reverse is also true. Cybersecurity researchers have recently identified novel threat activities involving malware that the Chinese government supports. These activities target a government agency in Southeast Asia for cyber espionage, as the threat actors attempt to access intelligence documents.

The campaign, which they dubbed “Crimson Palace,” originated in early 2022. Additionally, MDR identified malware that had not been previously reported and enhanced versions of malware that had been reported.

Additionally, recent reports of a few Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage groups have been in the news. One of these groups has recently increased its activities directed at government, academic, technology, and diplomatic organizations in Taiwan.