Chinese hackers reportedly target 27 universities

Chinese hackers singled out over two dozen universities in the United States and around the world in an apparent bid to gain access to maritime military research, according to a report by cybersecurity firm iDefense, which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal, writes Shannon Liao for The Verge.

The hackers sent universities spear phishing emails doctored to appear as if they came from partner universities, but they unleashed a malicious payload when opened. Universities are traditionally seen as easier targets than US military contractors, and they can still contain useful military research.

Twenty-seven universities were found to have been targeted by the group, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Washington and other colleges in Canada and Southeast Asia. iDefense didn’t name every university in the report due to ongoing investigations, but anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal that Penn State and Duke University were two of the other targets.
Full report on the Verge site