By Canadian Press

Security breach detected in Oct., believed to be sponsored by the Chinese state

Dec 5, 2022 | 9:28 PM

The Canadian branch of human rights organization Amnesty International says it was the target of a cyberattack it believes was sponsored by the Chinese state.

In a statement posted on its website, Amnesty International Canada says the digital security breach was first detected on Oct. 5, 2022, when suspicious activity was spotted on Amnesty’s IT infrastructure. 

An investigation by forensic investigators and cybersecurity experts was immediately launched, and steps were taken to protect the organization’s systems.

Amnesty International Canada says preliminary results of the probe suggest tools and techniques associated with specific advanced persistent threat groups were used in the cyberattack.

It says forensic experts with international cybersecurity firm Secureworks later established the likely source of the security breach was a threat group sponsored or tasked by the Chinese state, based on the nature of the targeted information as well as the observed tools and behaviours.

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In the statement, Amnesty International Canada says it “has taken swift and robust action to strengthen its digital security and restore systems back online securely.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2022.

The Canadian Press