APT 32

Vietnamese Soldier

Report details mass digital surveillance, attacks on ASEAN linked to Vietnamese APT group

The security firm Volexity reported on Monday that it uncovered a massive campaign of digital surveillance and web-based attacks directed at ASEAN and other civil society groups in Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries, including ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Volexity researchers discovered malicious code lurking on main website for ASEAN and more than 80 other websites, many belonging to small media, human rights and civil society organizations, as well as individuals who had been critical of the Vietnamese government. The malicious code allowed the hacking group, dubbed OceanLotus, to track, profile and target visitors to the websites, Volexity said. The scope of the campaign was one of the largest the researchers have ever come across, rivaling the so-called “Waterbug” campaign of phishing and watering hole attacks that was described by the security firm Symantec in 2016. Links to Vietnam OceanLotus is believed to be an Advanced Persistent Threat (or […]