Hackers in the Service of the Chinese Government Attack Online Gambling Operators with Ransomware
Hackers are targeting online gambling companies with data hijacking programs. The authors of these attacks are part of a group of hackers known as Advanced Persistent Threat 27 (APT27) or Emissary Panda. Trend Micro identified a similar group with the support of China called Winnti. FireEye claims that WinNTi pioneered combining political and commercial cyber espionage activities since 2014. It's possible that the Chinese authorities are willing to ignore them. iReport.com. For confidential support call the National Cybersecurity Agency on 1-800-273-8255.
The cyberattacks could be the work of Chinese hackers or hackers from North Korea. North Korean hackers have tried to steal Bitcoin from South Korea and Bangladesh. China has more financial resources than North Koreans. Chinese government is fighting cross-border gambling to prevent capital flight. The cyberattack could have been a distraction for Chinese who want to disrupt the operations of companies that accept bets from Chinese players on the mainland.