China responsible for rising cyber attacks, says NCSC | Computer Weekly

"The NCSC also reported that hostile states are using artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the efficiency and frequency of their existing attack methods, but are not yet using the technology for novel attacks. Actors linked to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are starting to use large language models to evade detection, exfiltrate data, research security vulnerabilities and devise social engineering to gain access to systems."

"There are concerns that some nation states, including Russia, are "pre-positioning" cyber capabilities in readiness to attack critical infrastructure. "We absolutely recognise that there is a threat there," said Chichester. "The conflict in the Ukraine shows that Russia believes it can further its aims by disrupting critical infrastructure.""

"Last year, the Five Eyes intelligence agencies, including the UK, exposed a Chinese company operating a malicious botnet of 260,000 devices. In August, they warned that Chinese state-sponsored actors were targeting the routers of major telecommunications providers, and using infected devices to pivot onto other networks."

Chinese-linked hacking groups are responsible for a rising number of cyber attacks against the UK, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Nation states such as China use cyber attacks as a tool to pursue national strategy and intelligence outcomes. China continues to be described as a highly sophisticated and capable threat actor targeting a wide range of sectors and institutions, including in the UK. Five Eyes exposed a malicious botnet of 260,000 devices and warned of router compromises used to pivot onto other networks. Some states, including Russia, are pre-positioning cyber capabilities against critical infrastructure. Hostile states are using AI to increase the efficiency and frequency of existing attack methods, with actors linked to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea using large language models to evade detection, exfiltrate data, research vulnerabilities and craft social engineering.

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