A cyber attack by Chinese hackers on the servers of the Israeli government, private technology companies and telecom companies. The hack occurred between 2019-2020, according to an MIT Technology review. Then, Israeli cyber investigation agencies launched a robust investigation. Investigating agencies initially concluded that its archenemy, Iran, was behind the attack. Symbols written in Iranian Persian language reinforced this suspicion. The attack also had the usual methods of Iranian hackers.
But the agencies were not satisfied with this finding and continued with further investigations. They did more research on cyber espionage in the Middle East. As the investigation progressed, the Israeli authorities became convinced that Iran was not behind the attack. The real culprit cell appeared. It was only China.
The hacking operation was carried out by a fake Chinese hacker group from the Iranian capital, Tehran. The hack was first discovered and reported to Israel by US cybersecurity firm FireI. The goal was to secretly monitor Israeli institutions after they had been infiltrated. The impersonation was intended as a distraction if it was ever caught. They deliberately used file paths containing the word Iran.
A Chinese hacking group known as UNC215 has been identified as the mastermind behind the hack. There is a common pattern of cyber attacks by Chinese hackers in the Middle East. They also continued this practice. This similarity with hacking was the main reason for their capture. UNC215 is already notorious in the Middle East. Hacking was carried out in many places and its methods are known to the electronic intelligence agencies of many countries, including Israel.
This is the first time that China has carried out such a massive hacking operation against Israel. This is at a time when China is trying to establish better relations with Israel. Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in Israel as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s dream project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
A similar impersonation hack has occurred before. During the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, a virus called Olympic Terminator entered servers used to control the Olympic opening ceremonies. The attack was carried out by North Korean hackers. But the attack was actually carried out by Russian intelligence agencies.
English summary: Chinese hackers disguised as Iran to target Israel
