At least 48 chemical and defence companies were victims of a coordinated cyber attack that had been traced to a man in China, according to a new report from security firm Symantec Corporation.Reutersreported that computers belonging to these companies were infected with malicious software known as PoisonIvy, which was used to steal information such as design documents, formulas and details on manufacturing processes, Symantec said on Monday.It did not identify the companies, but said they included multiple Fortune 100 corporations that developed compounds and advanced materials, along with businesses that helped manufacture infrastructure for the industries.The bulk of the infected machines were based in the United States and United Kingdom, Symantec said, adding that the victims included 29 chemicals companies, some of which developed advanced materials used in military vehicles.The purpose of the attacks appears to be industrial espionage, collecting intellectual property for competitive advantage, Symantec said, in a white paper on the campaign, which the company dubbed the Nitro attacks.The cyber campaign ran from late July through mid-September and was traced to a computer system in the US that was owned by a man in his 20s in Hebei province in northern China, according to Symantec.Researchers gave the man the pseudonym Covert Grove based on a literal translation of his name. They found evidence that the command and control servers used to control and mine data in this campaign were also used in attacks on human-rights groups from late April to early May, and in attacks on the motor industry in late May, Symantec said.We are unable to determine if Covert Grove is the sole attacker or if he has a direct or only indirect role, said Symantecs white paper. Nor are we able to definitively determine if he is hacking these targets on behalf of another party or multiple parties.The Nitro campaign is the latest in a series of highly targeted cyber attacks that security experts say are likely the work of government-backed hackers.Intel Corporations security unit McAfee in August identified Operation Shady RAT, a five-year coordinated campaign on the networks of 72 organiSations, including the United Nations, governments and corporations.In February, McAfee warned that hackers working in China broke into the computer systems of five multinational oil and natural gas companies to steal bidding plans and other critical proprietary information.Symantec said on Monday that the Nitro attackers sent emails with tainted attachments to between 100 and 500 employees at a company, claiming to be from established business partners or to contain bogus security updates.When an unsuspecting recipient opens the attachment, it installs PoisonIvy, a remote access Trojan that can take control of a machine and that is easily available over the Internet.
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