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Canada Joins Allies in Blaming China for Massive Attack on Email Servers

Article content OTTAWA - Canada joined the United States and other allies on Monday in accusing China for an enormous cyberattack that hacked tens of thousands of computers across the world earlier this year.



Hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange email servers. The government estimates that 400,000 servers were compromised before the attack. Server vulnerabilities were discovered in March.



Canada joins its allies in blaming China for massive attack on email servers. to video



"This event put a large number of Canadian entities at risk – a risk which persists in some instances even after patches from Microsoft have been applied," said Marc Garneau, Harjit Sajjan, Defence Minister and Public Safety Minister.



Article content "Canada is confident that China's Ministry of State Security (China's Ministry of State Security) is the one responsible for the widespread compromising of exchange servers."



The ministers went on to claim the attack was targeted at stealing personal information and intellectual property, and said one particular group, dubbed Advanced Persistent Threat Group 40 that they claim previously targeted Canada was among the Chinese organizations involved in this time's.



"APT 40 almost certainly consists of components of the Hainan State Security Department's regional MSS office," they said.



"This group's cyber activities targeted research that was vital for Canada's defense ocean technologies, defense, and biopharmaceutical industries, in a separate malicious cyber campaign in 2017 and 2018.



Article content Ministers also added that the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has released information on ways to reduce the threat that is posed by Microsoft Exchange servers' continued vulnerability.



Monday's allegations of China being behind the attacks was echoed by the U.S., Britain and the European Union, as well as NATO. This is the latest round in the naming of Western countries to humiliate enemies from abroad.



The announcements, while not accompanied by sanctions against the Chinese government, were designed to be a strong condemnation of the actions that a senior U.S. official described as part of an "pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace."



They highlighted the threat from Chinese government hackers, even though the administration is still trying to curb ransomware attacks by Russia-based syndicates who have targeted critical infrastructure.
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Article content According to the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre, the Chinese groups targeted the maritime industry and naval defense contractors in the U.S., Europe, as well as the Finnish parliament of Finland.



In a statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the hacking was "conducted by the state of China to facilitate intellectual property theft and espionage."



NATO condemned China's hacking activity for the first time, and called on Beijing "to adhere to its international obligations and behave responsibly in international systems, including cyberspace."



The Microsoft Exchange hack that months ago compromised tens of thousands of computers across the globe was quickly attributed to Chinese cyber spy groups from the private sector.



Content of the article A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.



China has previously deflected the responsibility for the hack. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry stated that China "firmly opposes" cyber-attacks and cyber-theft of all forms. However, he warned that cyberattacks should not be attributed based on "groundless allegations" but rather on evidence.



This latest round of accusations against China is not just the attack on Microsoft Exchange Server but also numerous high-profile ransomware incidents that have targeted private and public infrastructure and operations.



Canada's cybersecurity agency also published an update on Friday that outlines some of the risks foreign actors could pose in the coming federal election which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call in the next few weeks.



The Communications Security Establishment report specifically blamed the majority online attacks and threats to democratic processes in Canada and across the world since 2015 on China as well as Russia and Iran.



Canada may be a good defense country , but not an imminent target however, the CSE said that a growing number of actors are able, capable, and understanding of the political environment of Canada to take action in the future, "should they have strategic intentions."



This report from The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2021.



- Files from The Associated Press


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