Hackers, believed to be backed by the Chinese government, have broken into the systems of more than a dozen global telecom companies in over 30 countries and stolen large amounts of personal and corporate data "since at least 2017", according to research conducted by US-Israeli cyber security firm Cybereason. The multi-wave campaign, which is ongoing, focuses on obtaining data of specific, high-value targets and has resulted in a complete takeover of networks. It mainly seeks to obtain CDR data (call logs, cell tower locations, etc.) of specific individuals from various countries. Cybereason said it first identified the attacks earlier this year. It declined to name the individuals or the telecom firms, citing privacy concerns, but warned that though the campaign is targeted at specific individuals, any entity that has the power to take over the networks of telecom providers can potentially use it to shut down or disrupt an entire cellular network as part of a larger cyber warfare operation. 'Tools and methods consistent with those of Chinese actors' This type of targeted cyber espionage, the firm said, was usually the work of nation state actors. It said it had concluded with a "high level of certainty" that the hackers in this case are affiliated with China and that the operation is likely state-sponsored because the tools and methods used were consistent with those of several Chinese "threat actors", specifically with APT10, which is believed to operate on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). It said the attackers worked in waves — abandoning one…
