Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cyberwarfare

Czech Intel Report Targets Russian, Chinese Spies

The Czech Republic’s intelligence agency said Tuesday Russian and Chinese spies posed an imminent threat to the EU member’s security and other key interests last year.

In its annual report, the Security Information Service (BIS) said the intelligence services of Russia and China played an important role in promoting their interests abroad.

The Czech Republic’s intelligence agency said Tuesday Russian and Chinese spies posed an imminent threat to the EU member’s security and other key interests last year.

In its annual report, the Security Information Service (BIS) said the intelligence services of Russia and China played an important role in promoting their interests abroad.

“The key difference is that Russia seeks to destabilise and disintegrate its opponents, while China is trying to build a Sinocentric global community wherein other nations acknowledge the legitimacy of China’s interests,” BIS said.

All Russian intelligence services were active on Czech territory in 2019. Spies with a diplomatic cover focused on promoting Russia’s interests and the Kremlin’s views, as well as boosting Russia’s reputation in the Czech Republic.

Chinese spies used covers as diplomats, journalists or scientists and “used the openness of the Czech environment to the offer of Chinese investment,” BIS said.

They targeted the tech sector, the military, security, infrastructure, the health sector, the economy and environmental protection and looked for ways to create a favourable portrait of China.

BIS added that foreign spies also targeted Czech cyberspace with attacks aimed at the foreign ministry and diplomatic missions abroad, but also the infrastructure of Czech anti-virus software maker Avast.

It said Russian and Chinese services were behind these attacks, adding that phishing and spear-phishing emails were the most frequently used tactic.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Related: Pompeo Concerned by Cyber Attacks on Czech Hospitals

Related: Czech Intel Report Highlights Russian, Chinese Spying

Related: Czech, US to Cooperate on Security of 5G Networks

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cyberwarfare

WASHINGTON - Cyberattacks are the most serious threat facing the United States, even more so than terrorism, according to American defense experts. Almost half...

Cyberwarfare

Russian espionage group Nomadic Octopus infiltrated a Tajikistani telecoms provider to spy on 18 entities, including government officials and public service infrastructures.

Cybercrime

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft calls attention to a series of zero-day remote code execution attacks hitting its Office productivity suite.

Cyberwarfare

Several hacker groups have joined in on the Israel-Hamas war that started over the weekend after the militant group launched a major attack.

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant VMware on Tuesday shipped urgent updates to fix a trio of security problems in multiple software products, including a virtual machine...

Cyberwarfare

The war in Ukraine is the first major conflagration between two technologically advanced powers in the age of cyber. It prompts us to question...

Application Security

Fortinet on Monday issued an emergency patch to cover a severe vulnerability in its FortiOS SSL-VPN product, warning that hackers have already exploited the...

Cybercrime

On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cybersecurity companies summarize the cyber operations they have seen and their impact.