American Military News The Chinese state-sponsored hacking group APT10 is the primary suspect in an August attack on U.S. utilities companies, a report revealed last week.
The intrusion techniques used for the hacks appeared to resemble those used in a previous hack this year, according to Forbes. The cyberattacks against at least 17 reported U.S. utility companies used âspear phishingâ techniques, mimicking emails from committees known to conduct professional evaluations and certification boards.
Cybersecurity firm Proofpoint determined the attacks went on between Aug. 21 and Aug. 29 and used a similar method to those used in another attack at the beginning of August.
A previous cyber attack is believed to have been carried out by APT10, though it was not definitively proven the first time around. The first attempt reportedly used mimicked emails from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). The most recent attacks used emails impersonating the Global Energy Certification (GEC).
The apparent similarity of the two cyberattacks, both using âLookBackâ malware attached to apparently official emails, have led cybersecurity experts at Proofpoint to against suspect APT10, according to Forbes.