Security company McAfee has just released a paper revealing a massive set of cyber-attacks, infiltrating 72 organizations. Reuters is calling it the “biggest series of cyber-attacks to date”. Among the victims McAfee names: the US government, the United Nations, and the International Olympic Committee.
McAfee doesn’t name the perpetrator, at least outright:
The interest in the information held at the Asian and Western national Olympic Committees, as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency in the lead-up and immediate follow-up to the 2008 Olympics was particularly intriguing and potentially pointed a finger at a state actor behind the intrusions, because there is likely no commercial benefit to be earned from such hacks. The presence of political non-profits, such as the a private western organization focused on promotion of democracy around the globe or U.S. national security think tank is also quite illuminating.
Media outlets are reporting that “state actor” could be China.
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