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Ottawa - A cybersecurity expert says the recent hacking attempt on a sensitive Canadian government computer network is similar to attacks mounted by an elite unit of the Chinese army based in Shanghai.
Canada said on Tuesday "a highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor" had broken into the national research council, a leading body that works with major companies such as aircraft and train maker Bombardier.
Beijing later accused Canada of making irresponsible accusations that lacked credible evidence.
Conduct intelligence
While Canada did not give details of the attack, CrowdStrike chief technology officer Dmitri Alperovitch said it was similar to other hacking campaigns launched by a unit of the People's Liberation Army that his company had nicknamed 'Putter Panda.' Thousands belong to Unit 61486 and they conduct intelligence on satellite and aerospace industries, he said.
"It certainly looks like one of the actors we track out of China that we've seen going after aircraft manufacturers in the past," Alperovitch said.
CrowdStrike is a California-based security technology company.
Ottawa's public complaint was the first time it had ever identified a suspect in a string of attacks on government and commercial computers.
Military officers
China is Canada's second most important trading partner after the United States and bilateral trade is growing.
Although Canada enjoys good relations with China, which it sees as a promising market for crude, the high-profile nature of the latest target, the NRC, may have made it impossible for Ottawa to keep quiet.
The United States in May charged five Chinese military officers and accused them of hacking into American nuclear, metal and solar companies to steal trade secrets.
