Giant leak reveals Chinese infosec vendor I-Soon is one of Beijing’s cyber-attackers for hire

Giant leak reveals Chinese infosec vendor I-Soon is one of Beijing's cyber-attackers for hire

February 22, 2024 at 01:33AM

A leaked cache of documents on GitHub reveals Chinese infosec vendor I-Soon offering rent-a-hacker services to Beijing. The trove contains details on I-Soon’s activities, including competing for hacking contracts, developing tools for compromising devices, and possibly accessing government systems in various countries. The leaked docs also discuss I-Soon’s bid for work in Xinjiang and interactions with Chinese government agencies seeking access to foreign government systems. This leak provides insight into Beijing’s recruitment of infosec resources but does not reveal significantly new capabilities. Further translations of the documents may provide more revealing information.

Following the analysis of the meeting notes, the key takeaways are as follows:

– I-Soon, a Chinese infosec vendor, offers rent-a-hacker services for Beijing, targeting low-value hacking contracts from government agencies.
– The leaked documents detail I-Soon’s tools capable of compromising various devices and claiming to have accessed government departments in several countries.
– I-Soon is seen bidding for work in Xinjiang and has been involved in hardware hacking using devices such as poisoned power banks.
– Infosec luminary Brian Krebs describes I-Soon as having various clients within Chinese government agencies seeking access to foreign government systems.
– The leak provides insight into how Beijing outsources its infosec offensives, but the initial analysis does not suggest unique capabilities possessed by I-Soon.

The leaked trove presents the first known instance of a leak from a Chinese hacker-for-hire, shedding light on Beijing’s outsourcing of infosec offensives. While it may not reveal entirely unique capabilities, it offers a significant glimpse into China’s infosec ecosystem and its dealings with government agencies. Further translations and analysis of the leaked documents may reveal additional noteworthy information.

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