Summary:
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) recently stated that a sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored threat actor has performed reconnaissance scanning against numerous domains in Canada. The reconnaissance activity spans several months in 2024, with the majority of targeted organizations being Canadian government departments and agencies including political parties, the House of Commons and Senate. Dozens of other organizations have also been targeted including democratic institutions, critical infrastructure, the defense sector, media organizations, think tanks and NGOs. According to the Cyber Centre, the reconnaissance scanning does not indicate that an organization was compromised. However, it does suggest that the actor is actively gathering information from targeted entities such as potential vulnerabilities, which can be exploited in coordinated future attacks.

Security Officer Comments:
The development follows recent reports from news outlets indicating that a Chinese state-sponsored actor, dubbed Salt Typhoon, infiltrated the networks of several U.S. internet service providers as part of a cyber espionage campaign aimed at acquiring sensitive information. Although the recent activity has not yet been linked to a specific threat group, it underscores the ongoing efforts of the People's Republic of China to disrupt critical infrastructure and obtain sensitive intellectual property from government entities worldwide.

Suggested Corrections:
The Cyber Centre is urging organizations to remain vigilant and bolster their defenses against reconnaissance scanning. This includes ensuring systems are up to date, implementing multi-factor authentication, increasing logging to check for suspicious activity, and educating employees about phishing and how to spot fraudulent emails and text messages.

Link(s):
https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/news-eve...epublic-china-reconnaissance-canadian-systems