Amnesty International Canada says it was targeted by China-sponsored cyber attack

The Canadian branch of Amnesty International says it has been a target of a cyber attack sponsored by China. Amnesty International Canada secretary general Ketty Nivyabandi said the searches in their systems were specifically and solely related to China and Hong Kong, as well as a few prominent Chinese activists. US cybersecurity firm Secureworks said there was no attempt to monetise the access, and "a threat group, sponsored or tasked by the Chinese state," was likely behind the attack because of the nature of the searches, the level of sophistication and the use of specific tools that are distinctive of China-sponsored actors. Ms Nivyabandi encouraged activists and journalists to update their cybersecurity protocols in light of it. Amnesty is among organisations that support human rights activists and journalists targeted by state actors for surveillance. In August, the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future listed Amnesty and the International Federation for Human Rights among organisations that Chinese hackers were targeting through password-stealing schemes designed to harvest credentials. New contract for cybersecurity services after big hacks.