Report: Chinese Trojan Horse targeted defense corporations

Defense official says he's unaware of such developments; Defense corporations decline to comment.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
IDF cyber warfare room 370 (photo credit: Courtesy IDF)
IDF cyber warfare room 370
(photo credit: Courtesy IDF)
A Chinese Trojan horse email campaign targeting some 140 senior Israeli defense corporation employees was thwarted recently, Channel 2 said in a report on Sunday evening.
On Monday, a senior Israeli defense source said he was unaware of such developments. The Israel Aerospace Industries corporation did not deny or confirm the report, saying instead in a statement, "We don't comment in the media about information security issues."
According to the report, some of the defense company figures who received the email are involved in highly classified, sensitive security projects.
The email was made to appear as if it came from a known German company that regularly works with the Israeli defense industry.
However, it turned out to to contain a Trojan horse, which, according to the report, attempted to funnel information from the recipients' computers. The Trojan horse was noticed by computer defense systems and shut down, the report added.
The defense establishment then realized how many Israelis received the email, and reportedly tracked the malicious program down to Chinese defense industries.
The incident led security companies to reiterate to employees computer security guidelines.