The Chinese hacker group Vixen Panda is suspected of a recent cyber attack on the Foreign Ministry, according to a new report by Euractiv. The hackers were particularly interested in policy documents. Two servers that communicated with foreign ministry servers in several European countries were targeted. The attack originated from a third country, according to a ministry spokesperson.
On Wednesday, Samuel Žbogar, the Foreign Ministry State Secretary, was questioned by parliamentarians about the attack. The investigation is still ongoing, and Žbogar couldn’t confirm the alleged Chinese involvement. The Ministry’s IT system was immediately shut down after the attack, but it is still being cleaned up. The Chinese ambassador has not been contacted yet since there is no confirmation on which country is behind the attack.
China has been known for its cyber espionage tactics targeting foreign governments and companies. The Vixen Panda group is also known for attacking the US government and military networks. The group is believed to have a connection with the Chinese military, which China denies.
The EU has frequently accused China of cyber espionage, and there are ongoing concerns over the security of the EU’s IT infrastructure.
