Known for its attacks on government agencies in different countries, the ART31 hacker group first attacked Russian companies, representatives of Positive Technologies told RBC. The ART31 grouping, which also appears under the names Hurricane Panda and Zirconium, is linked by a number of experts with the Chinese special services.
A Positive Technologies representative did not disclose the number of attacked companies and their names, as well as the damage caused. He explained this by the privacy policy.
ART31 activity has been recorded since the 2010s. Hackers attack mainly the public sector, collecting confidential information. According to Microsoft, from March to September 2020, about 1,000 attacks by this group on users associated with the presidential elections in the United States and candidates for this post were recorded. ART31 hacker attacks were also reported in Norway, Finland, Germany, Mongolia, Canada and Belarus.
Microsoft previously reported that APT31 is operating from China. The British government has stated that the group is associated with the Ministry of State Security of the PRC.
Read also:
