In addition to conducting cyber-espionage, fractions of large and state-sponsored hacking groups appear to be engaged in executing financially motivated cyber-attacks. These cybercrimes appear targeted to quite a few specific segments, but the most affected is the ever-increasing online video game industry. Individuals are reportedly a part of a larger group of prolific state-sponsored Chinese cyber-espionage operation who could be deploying the toolset and skillset to make some profit along the way, discovered researchers. The acts of cybercrime with monetary gain as the primary aim are increasing steadily as gamers increasingly shift gaming to the cloud and remote servers.
Researchers at FireEye have put together a comprehensive report on APT41, a prolific Chinese cyber threat group that carries out state-sponsored espionage activity. The group is strongly believed to be sponsored or supported by the Chinese administration. Researchers claim the APT41 group has been conducting persistent attacks on companies that harbor trade secrets. However, alongside conducting cyber espionage missions, the group’s members are also executing financially motivated operations. The researchers noted that some of the members were using malware that was generally reserved for espionage campaigns.
Chinese Cyber-Espionage Group APT41 Also Conducts Financially Motivated Cyber-Attacks:
State-sponsored hacking groups or persistent threat actors aren’t commonly involved in carrying out financially beneficial operations. These groups make use of highly effective “Zero Day Exploits” to deliver malware or download multiple payloads into the secure servers of international businesses. These exploits are usually quite expensive on the Dark Web, but hackers rarely procure these from exploit brokers to steal di ..
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