Chinese Hackers Target Australian Media Agencies Ahead Of G20 Summit

A group of Chinese hackers believed to be connected with the Chinese government have allegedly breached media organisations in Australia. An international cyber security expert revealed that activity has been detected in the last two weeks targeting the country's media outlets.

Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of U.S. computer security company Crowdstrike, told ABC that his company has been tracking the activity of the group which the company called "Deep Panda." He said it was the same group that was discovered attempting to gain access into the networks of U.S. foreign policy organisations at the peak of the Iraq conflict around June.

Alperovitch said Deep Panda may be targeting Australian media to try to understand the country's media climate when Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the country to attend the G20 summit. He explained that he could not reveal the media organisations being targeted for reasons of confidentiality.

The security expert said Chinese hackers may be looking for more information about Australian reporters and the types of questions they usually ask. Aside from Deep Panda, Crowdstrike also identified another Chinese hacking group with ties to the Chinese government. Alperovitch said it was the same group that attacked the Australian government and commercial networks.

The group, codenamed Vixen Panda, has a prominent record in Australia. Alperovitch remarked that Vixen Panda is most focused on Australia. He believes that the group is a military unit within the People's Liberation Army Third Department based in Beijing.

According to reports, the Third Department is equivalent to the National Security Agency of the United States or Signals Directorate of Australia. The unit conducts espionage against Australia while operating inside the Chinese military. Alperovitch said any information that the hackers' steal will be passed on the military's top-level officials then to the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, Brisbane roads have been closed to the public as world leaders begin to head to the city in time for the G20 summit. Heads of state from Mexico, India, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Turkey have arrived in the city. A total of 13 leaders from G20 countries are scheduled to arrive on Nov 14, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.