German media reported that hackers suspected of links to the Vietnamese government have breached the networks of the automakers: BMW and Hyundai.
According to the report - published by Bayerischer Rundfunk and Taggesschau - hackers hacked a BMW branch network sometime during the spring of 2019. The attackers allegedly installed on infected hosts a penetration testing toolkit named Cobalt Strike, which they used as a back-door in the network. Penetrated.
It is assumed that (BMW) allowed the intruders to continue with its network, followed all their moves, and then cut off their arrival during the end of last week, i.e. late November.
According to the German sites, the hackers who infiltrated the BMW network were also behind the penetration of (Hyundai), but did not provide any additional details about the second penetration. But they pointed out that the group behind the two companies penetration specializes in targeting car manufacturers. The group known as Ocean Lotus or APT32 is believed to have carried out the attacks on behalf of the Vietnamese government.
According to reports, the group has been active since 2014. While initial attacks have focused on penetration of foreign companies operating in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, since 2017 the group has started targeting the auto industry continuously.
Before the new revelations about the targeting of BMW and Hyundai, the group's name was publicly associated with the attack on Toyota Australia. Weeks later, Toyota Japan and Toyota Vietnam revealed similar breakthroughs.
Many experts speculated that the Vietnamese government was following in the footsteps of China in using piracy groups to conduct economic espionage on foreign companies, stealing intellectual property, and then using it for its state-funded companies.
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