Researchers have uncovered a spy network that stole classified and other sensitive documents from the Indian government, the Dalai Lama's office, the United Nations, and compromised computers elsewhere, according to a report released on Tuesday.The operation, dubbed "Shadow Network," is detailed in a report that also cites evidence it says links the Shadow network to two people living in Chengdu, China, and the underground hacking community in that country.
The report is based on research from volunteers at the U.S.-based Shadow Server Foundation and Information Warfare Monitor, which includes researchers from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and the SecDev Group, an Ottawa-based consultancy.The researchers had uncovered another spy network, dubbed Ghost Net, last year that targeted the Dalia Lama as well as government agencies and nongovernmental organizations in other countries. That investigation led to the Shadow Network report. Cyber-espionage has been going on for years, but interest has increased with the news that Google and more than 30 other U.S. companies were targeted in computer attacks last year and Gmail users who were human rights activists were also targeted by spies.
For the Shadow Network report, the researchers spent eight months spying on the spies, grabbing copies of data that was stolen from compromised computers from the spy network's command and control servers, and analyzing the malware.The data stolen from the compromised agencies includes about 1,500 letters sent from the Dalai Lama's office between January and November 2009, reports on missile systems in India, and documents related to NATO force movements in Afghanistan.
The report is based on research from volunteers at the U.S.-based Shadow Server Foundation and Information Warfare Monitor, which includes researchers from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and the SecDev Group, an Ottawa-based consultancy.The researchers had uncovered another spy network, dubbed Ghost Net, last year that targeted the Dalia Lama as well as government agencies and nongovernmental organizations in other countries. That investigation led to the Shadow Network report. Cyber-espionage has been going on for years, but interest has increased with the news that Google and more than 30 other U.S. companies were targeted in computer attacks last year and Gmail users who were human rights activists were also targeted by spies.
For the Shadow Network report, the researchers spent eight months spying on the spies, grabbing copies of data that was stolen from compromised computers from the spy network's command and control servers, and analyzing the malware.The data stolen from the compromised agencies includes about 1,500 letters sent from the Dalai Lama's office between January and November 2009, reports on missile systems in India, and documents related to NATO force movements in Afghanistan.
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