Researchers from two cybersecurity firms have released a report linking a hacking group known as "naikon" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) intelligence unit 78020 based in Kunming, Yunan province. The release of the report coincides with the highly anticipated meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama in Washington.

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The study dubbed "Project CameraShy," was conducted by ThreatConnect and Defense Group Inc. The researchers analyzed the activity of a malicious malware that has been successfully used to attack several countries involved in the South China Sea dispute as well as some international organizations including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They found out that the malware was sent to unsuspecting people though email attachments.

The researchers were able to trace the malware to the following domain "greensky27.vicp.net" - which is linked to a member of the PLA unit 78020 identified as Ge Xing. Ge has published several papers on Southeast Asia and is thought is thought to be an expert on the region.

"Niakon APT supports Unit 78020's mandate to perform regional computer network operations, signals intelligence, and political analysis of the Southeast Asian border nations, particularly those claiming disputed areas of the energy-rich South China Sea," the researchers wrote.

U.S. officials have repeatedly accused China of sponsoring cyberattacks. But China has repeatedly denied these allegations.

During a recent speech in Seattle, President Xi said China was also a victim of cyberattacks. He noted that anyone found guilty of hacking should be punished according to the stipulations of the law. President Xi added that China is ready to create a "high-level joint dialogue mechanism" to deal with the issue.

Besides cyberattacks, the South China Sea dispute has been another source of tension between China and the U.S. China has been conducting land reclamation and constructing facilities on islets in the area, which are claimed by several neighboring countries including Taiwan, Philippine, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Recently, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) announced that satellite images shows China is constructing a new airstrip on Mischief Reef (known as Meji Jiao in China).

Analysts say the report on naikon is going to put pressure on America to show that it is doing more to resolve the South China Sea dispute and end the ongoing cyberattacks.

TagsChina cyberattacks, China cyberattacks US, PLA Unit 78020, PLA Kunming Hackers, Project CameraShy, ThreatConnect, Defense Group Inc., Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), greensky27.vicp.net, Ge Xing