“UNC3886 poses a serious threat to us, and has the potential to undermine our national security,” Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said in a speech.
Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant has described UNC3886 as a “China-nexus espionage group” that has attacked defense, technology and telecommunications organizations in the U.S. and Asia.
Singapore: Singapore said on Friday that it was responding to cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure by an espionage group alleged by security experts to be linked to China.
“UNC3886 poses a serious threat to us, and has the potential to undermine our national security,” Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said in a speech. “It is going after high value strategic threat targets, vital infrastructure that delivers essential services.”
He did not give details of the attacks, citing security risks, nor of any consequences.
Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant has described UNC3886 as a “China-nexus espionage group” that has attacked defense, technology and telecommunications organizations in the U.S. and Asia.
However, the Chinese embassy in Singapore refuted claims that an espionage group accused of performing cyberattacks on Singapore’s critical infrastructure was linked to China.
In a Facebook post published over the weekend, the Chinese embassy said such claims were “groundless smears and accusations”.
“The embassy would like to reiterate that China is firmly against and cracks down all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law. China does not encourage, support or condone hacking activities,” it wrote on Saturday.
Singapore’s critical infrastructure sectors include energy, water, banking, finance, healthcare, transport, government, communication, media, as well as security and emergency services, according to the country’s cyber agency.
Reuters earlier this week reported that the Taiwanese semiconductor industry and investment analysts had been targeted by Chinese-linked hackers as part of a string of cyber espionage campaigns.