Lined up in the sights of Vietnamese hackers

guest · Nov 9, 2020

Suspected Vietnamese cyber-spies targeting dissidents in Germany
November 9, 2020
https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/suspected-vietnamese-cyber-spies-targeting-dissidents-in-germany

Suspected Vietnamese state-backed hackers are targeting dissidents from the South East Asian nation residing in Germany.

An investigation by German broadcaster BR and weekly newspaper Zeit Online has revealed how the OceanLotus (APT32) group are using spear-phishing, watering hole (compromised legitimate websites) and similar tactics to target Vietnamese expatriates in Germany.
The article tells the story of those targeted, offering a rare victim-centric perspective on the use of cyber-espionage to targets dissidents and human rights activists.
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For example, Berlin-based Vietnamese blogger Bui Thanh Hieu talks of his fears that any successful malware attack on his computer could expose the identities of people in his home nation that are feeding him intelligence.
Bui clicked on links to phishing emails, but his PC was not compromised by malware, according to a preliminary investigation.

The article offers a visualization of how the phishing emails sent to Bui were designed to work as well as a similar tear down of other elements of the hacker’s cyber-tradecraft.
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Lined up in the sights of Vietnamese hackers

There is no safe place
A group of Vietnamese hackers has been systematically spying on dissidents for years, including in Germany. The victims feel left alone by authorities as an investigation by BR and Zeit Online is able to show.
Die deutsche Version dieses Artikels finden Sie hier.
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They apparently knew that he wanted to go to the meeting in Stuttgart – and that they could use that to bait him. Six weeks before the meeting, an invitation arrived in his mailbox. It was sent by the hackers – laced with malware. Bui clicked on the mail.
Spied on and left alone
It is this kind of targetting – meticulously prepared, sent in the right moment, executed in only two clicks – that can become very dangerous for dissidents. Months of research conducted by BR and Zeit Online show that there are numerous persons affected, among them opposition members and human rights activists.
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Conversations with more than two dozen people – victims, investigators and Germany’s top domestic intelligence chief – paint the picture of a group of hackers presumably acting in Vietnam’s strategic interest. The research also shows that the hackers make mistakes. Therefore, the team of reporters succeeded in finding out which websites are used for distributing the malware. The hackers have been trying to spy on their victims for years.
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About the project:
Lined up in the sights of Vietnamese hackers is an investigatoin by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR Recherche / BR Data) and Zeit Online. Their project, titled "Hackers of Hanoi", is viewable at this link..
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