U.S. and Japanese Authorities Warn of Hacking Group

The National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, along with Japanese police, issued a joint warning to multinational companies about a hacking group linked to China named BlackTech. This recommendation concerning cybersecurity was released late Wednesday. The joint advisory, also issued by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and its Japanese counterpart, urged companies to review the internet connectivity devices of their subsidiaries to reduce the risk of potential attacks from the group. The statement noted: "BlackTech has demonstrated capabilities to modify the firmware of internet-connected devices undetected and exploits trust relationships in domain names to move from international subsidiaries to headquarters in Japan and the United States, which are primary targets." The Japanese National Police Agency stated in a separate announcement that "BlackTech has been involved in cyberattacks on governments and companies in the technology sector in the United States and East Asia since around 2010."