Hackers at a secretive unit of the Chinese military have stolen huge amounts of data from 115 companies and organizations in the U.S. since at least 2006, a U.S. computer security firm said in a research report released online Tuesday.
The details made public by Mandiant Corp. add weight to arguments that Chinese authorities are increasingly targeting foreign firms, institutions and government agencies. Beijing denies such charges and says China too is a victim of cyber attacks. Based in a 12-story office tower in Shanghai’s Pudong district, Unit 61398 of China’s People’s Liberation Army “is likely government-sponsored and one of the most persistent of China’s cyber threat actors,” said Mandiant.