Dharamsala, September 22: Foreign media in China have come under various attacks in the run-up to the National Day military parade on October 1, according to reports.
While three journalists from Japan’s Kyodo news agency were beaten up and their two computers destroyed last Friday in their hotel room the latest wave of attacks came on the internet with several foreign media being targeted by emails with malicious computer software. According to Reuters, while spam mails and viruses are not uncommon the latest attack tries to tempt foreign reporters to open infected attachments.
China has beefed up security with paramilitary troops deployed at various exits of the Tiananmen square as it celebrates 60 years of the Communist party’s rule over mainland China with a military parade on October 1.
“There is definitely a pattern of virus attacks in the run-up to important dates on the Chinese political calendar,” Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong old Reuters. He noted that non-government organizations are also favorite targets. “Whether the government is behind it, closes its eyes to it, supports it or has nothing to with it is unclear. There are also patriotic hackers, so there is no way to know for sure who is behind it.”
While poor English used to be a giveaway, new techniques include mimicking a known and trusted sender, or resending legitimate emails from activist organizations with a fake, malware-laden attachment.
The impersonating emails require more effort by the mystery senders but they are also more likely to be opened than easily identifiable, anonymous spam.
The email, which appeared to be from an economics editor named Pam Bouron, was a polite request for help lining up interviews during an upcoming visit to Beijing. It was tailored so that “Pam” appeared to work for each news organization.
The clue was that Reuters does not have an economics editor named Pam Bouron. Others who received the “Pam Bouron” email include the Straits Times, Dow Jones, Agence France Presse, and Italian news agency Ansa.
Similar cyber-attacks through email were common ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games last year. In March this year, researchers at Infowar Monitor in Canada found widespread cyber-infiltration into the computers of the Dharamsala based Tibetan government in exile.
