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CNBC AI News, August 7th – China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) issued a warning today via its WeChat account, detailing increasingly sophisticated methods employed by foreign intelligence agencies to steal sensitive information. The MSS highlighted the rising threat of cyberattacks targeting both citizens’ personal data and state secrets.
The advisory detailed a specific case involving a shop owner, referred to as Mr. Li, who installed a smart network camera with remote pan and tilt functionality to enhance security at his seaside business.
Li noticed a peculiar pattern: his camera would routinely, automatically rotate during lunch breaks and at night, repositioning itself to focus on the distant harbor.
Suspecting his camera had been compromised and was being used to surveil the port, Li reported his concerns to national security authorities.
An investigation revealed that the camera was indeed periodically accessing foreign websites and transmitting data.
The breach occurred because the device was operating with the factory-default password and hadn’t received any software updates, making it vulnerable to exploitation by overseas hackers. The attackers successfully gained control of the surveillance system.
Beyond default passwords, the MSS also cautioned against the indiscriminate use of automatic download features.
In another case, an unnamed technical expert from a sensitive organization (“Mr. Wang”) joined an online forum for technical discussions to facilitate knowledge sharing.
To ensure he didn’t miss any valuable shared content, Mr. Wang logged into his personal account on his work computer and enabled the automatic file download function.
Shortly thereafter, a routine security inspection revealed that Wang’s computer had been infected with a virus. It had automatically downloaded a Trojan horse program shared within the online group, which was periodically communicating with foreign servers.
The MSS stated that foreign intelligence agencies are increasingly using such methods to distribute malware and target key personnel within China for espionage, urging heightened vigilance.
The Ministry advised users to install reliable antivirus software on work computers, regularly scan the systems for malware, and promptly install official security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
Individuals should also exercise caution when using automatic download features on social media platforms and download software only from official or trusted sources to avoid installing potentially malicious programs.
Internet-connected devices should never use default or easily guessable passwords.
Users should regularly change passwords for important accounts, enable two-factor authentication, and activate login alert notifications for added security.
Organizations can also implement whitelists for internal accounts to minimize the risk of network intrusions.
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