Chinese-linked hacking units increasingly use ‘ORBs’ to obfuscate espionage, researchers say

[rbc]

Successfully tracking Chinese-linked cyber espionage operations is becoming increasingly difficult as Beijing’s hackers shift toward networks of virtual private servers and compromised smart devices to conceal their campaigns, researchers with Google Cloud’s Mandiant said Wednesday.

Although not necessarily a new tactic, the growing use of such networks, akin to botnets, makes life harder for those tasked with defending networks amid frequent warnings from Western governments about aggressive Chinese espionage and pre-positioning within U.S. critical infrastructure networks as part of activity tracked as Volt Typhoon.

The tactic also represents the latest way in which Chinese hacking operations are growing increasingly difficult to detect.
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Chinese-linked hacking units increasingly use ‘ORBs’ to obfuscate espionage, researchers say