State Secrets for Sale: More Leaks from the Chinese Hack-for-Hire Industry
10 months ago
- #cybersecurity
- #China
- #data-leak
- Two Chinese datasets, VenusTech Data Leak and Salt Typhoon Data Leak, appeared for sale on DarkForums.
- Both leaks were posted by new accounts created to sell a single dataset and included data from China's hack-for-hire ecosystem.
- VenusTech is an IT security vendor with ties to the Chinese government and offensive hacking services.
- VenusTech's leaked documents include government contracts, offensive services, and intelligence targets in multiple countries.
- Salt Typhoon is a Chinese state-sponsored APT actor linked to intrusions in global telecommunications and universities.
- Salt Typhoon's leaked data includes employee details, compromised router information, and transaction records with Chinese cybersecurity vendors and government units.
- The leaks reveal connections between Salt Typhoon and front companies like Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Company.
- The data suggests China's state-sanctioned data collection is leaky, with insiders selling data on the black market.
- Chinese cybercriminals are increasingly active in Western digital crime spaces, re-sharing or reselling data breaches.