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Chinese hackers had unnoticed access to the corporate network of the Dutch chip company NXP for more than two years. The perpetrators were after chip designs and were
Chinese hackers had unnoticed access to the corporate network of the Dutch chip company NXP for more than two years. The perpetrators were after chip designs and were able to gain access through leaked employee account data.
Chinese cybercriminals disguised as Chimera were able to stay under the radar for more than two years between late 2017 and early 2020 and attack Dutch chip giant NXP.
In 2021, cybersecurity expert Fox-IT conducted a security investigation into the cyberattacks carried out by the Chinese hacker group Chimera. Fox-IT’s report was published by the Dutch newspaper NRC, but was subsequently removed. In the report, Fox-IT described how the Chinese hackers work.
Leaked employee account information allowed them to gain access to NXP’s corporate network. From there, sensitive data was diverted via cloud services. Two Dutch companies were victims, including the airline Transavia. The identity of the other company was initially unknown, but NRC later announced that it was NXP.
With a market value of $52 billion, NXP is the second most valuable company in the European chip industry. Since NXP acquired the American company Freescale in 2015, it has been the most important supplier of chips for the automotive industry. The company also develops secure Mifare chips for access cards, iPhones and Apple Watches, as well as chip cards for public transport. So NXP is a barrel full of valuable data.
“If a Chinese threat group obtains a chipmaker’s source code or hardware designs, these types of groups can use the source code even if the source code is not properly commented and documented,” said a researcher who wished to remain anonymous.
In 2019, NXP briefly mentioned the incident in its annual report. Potential damage was not communicated and customers and stakeholders were not alerted. According to several researchers, this is remarkable. You name it here big thing.
Not only NXP is a victim, Chimera also has a lot of experience in stealing data from various large companies.
Source: IT Daily
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