Expert hackers backed by the Chinese government have reportedly compromised the computer networks of 6 state governments in the United States in 2021.

Hackers Got into the Computer Systems of 6 States

According to Bloomberg, a private cybersecurity firm called Mandiant said that the intrusion started in May 2021 and continued through December 2021.

The firm believes that a group of Chinese hackers called APT41 are responsible for the breaches, but they did not reveal the compromised states or the motive behind the hack.

APT41 is notoriously known to launch hacking operations both for financial gain and espionage purposes.

Also Read: Microsoft: Chinese Hackers Use Zero-Day to Exploit SolarWinds Software

Geoff Ackerman, a principal threat analyst at Reston, Mandiant Inc., said that while the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has captured the world's attention and the potential for Russian cyber threats are very high, it is important to remember that other major threat actors in other countries are continuing their operations.

Ackerman added that they couldn't allow other cyber activity to fall to the wayside, especially since the illegal activities of APT41 continue to this day.

Several state agencies remain vulnerable to hackers, even as the Biden administration announced additional steps to secure federal government systems from hacking.

That is an urgent concern in light of the SolarWinds espionage campaign in which Russian intelligence operatives used the vulnerabilities of the supply chain to break into the networks of 9 agencies in the United States and dozens of private sector companies.

In this case, the report pointed out that the hackers used an unknown vulnerability in an off-the-shelf commercial application used by 18 states for animal health management.

Also, they exploited a software flaw known as Log4j that was discovered in December 2021, and officials in the United States said it was present in millions of devices.

The hackers started exploiting the vulnerability just hours after an advisory was made public, using it to re-compromise two state government networks.

Rufus Brown, a senior threat analyst at Mandiant, said that the hackers were persistent in gaining access into government networks, and it was exemplified by re-compromising previous victims and targeting multiple agencies within the same state. The whole ordeal shows that whatever the hackers are after, it is important.

The report released by Mandiant links the hacking to APT41, which was implicated in a Justice Department indictment back in 2020 that accused the Chinese hackers of targeting more than 100 companies and institutions in the United States and other countries. The targets include social media companies, universities, video game companies, and telecommunications providers.

The report states that APT41 continues to be undeterred by the US Department of Justice or DOJ. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has denied the accusations of hacking, according to ABC News.

Google's Acquisition of Mandiant

Due to the dangers of hacking and the obvious lack of security, Google has announced that it acquired the security firm Mandiant. The search giant bought the security firm for $5.4 billion on Mar. 8.

The acquisition will not only protect the company, but it will also protect the Google Cloud users, according to CNBC.

In 2015, Chinese hackers piggybacked Forbes' website to attack US defense.

In 2021, Facebook caught Chinese hackers targeting Uyghurs in the United States.

Related Article: Chinese Hackers Allegedly Targets the US, International Gov. Agencies Via Pulse Secure VPN Devices' Flaw

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Written by Sophie Webster