China is one of the main sources of cyber attacks against Europe, favoring strategic targets and posing a risk to the continent’s long-term prosperity, says the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies (MERICS).
‘China is one of the main sources of cyber attacks against Europe’said MERICS, a research center for Chinese affairs based in Germany, in the new report on computer piracy linked to the Chinese state for strategic purposes.
According to the European Cyber Incident Repository (EuRepoC), between 2005 and 2023, China was responsible for the largest number of cyber attacks worldwide, with 240, followed by Russia, with 158.
However, unlike attacks carried out by Russian operatives or lucrative strikes carried out by North Korean operatives, Chinese attacks are more strategic and typically orchestrated to gain long-term access, MERICS said.
Beijing invested in developing its piracy strategies with the aim of making it difficult to identify and increase the combat capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) coordinated by the state, the report said.
According to the Institute’s report, Chinese agents are targeting a small number of high-value targets and reusing the same tactics for different types of targets, using sophisticated devices such as routers and techniques designed to make detection difficult.
In 2021, 86% of German companies suffered cyber attacks, causing damage worth 223 billion euros, equivalent to 6% of Germany’s GDP.
32% of all attacks targeted state institutions, with the defense, energy, telecommunications and military institutions sectors being the most common targets, followed by business institutions and scientific institutions, MERICS pointed out.
The 2021 report from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz, reported that: “In Germany, politics and bureaucracy, the economy, science, technology and the military are the main targets of Chinese espionage.”
Western cybersecurity companies and government agencies agree that Chinese investments in the hacking industries are in line with the strategic priorities of China’s five-year plans, the report said.
MERICS warned of the urgency of European governments, the EU and NATO to study and identify the targets most vulnerable to hacking attacks, by studying the Chinese government’s priorities and sharing information between Western countries.
The Chinese government has also stepped up efforts to organize a large cyber workforce loyal to the Chinese Communist Party to strengthen its cybersecurity and orchestrate cyber attacks, without threatening the party, data from EURepoC, the study shows to international cybersecurity companies. and intelligence services councils.
The MERICS report noted that while not all Chinese agents have clear ties to the government, there is substantial evidence that many have ties to Beijing, indicating some degree of ties and sponsorship with the state.
The use of cyber systems and the attacks targeting critical infrastructures that enable long-term access suggest that China is preparing for future disruptive activities, which pose a risk to Europe, the report said.
European prosperity, based on its technological and innovative capacity, has increasingly driven geopolitical, economic and military competition, putting China in a position of rivalry in the race for technological supremacy, he says.
Source: DN
