Japan’s infrastructure probed by cybergroup, security firm says

A group of cyberattackers that emerged in 2010 and then went quiet has resurfaced and is targeting Japan’s critical infrastructure, a security vendor said this week.

The attacks have targeted utilities and energy companies in Japan, as well as other companies in finance, transportation and construction, said Greg Fitzgerald, chief marketing officer at Cylance, which specializes in end-point protection.

The group appears to be based in Asia, and its methods and procedures suggest it may be linked to a nation state, Fitzgerald said.

Symantec detected signs of the group, which Cylance calls Operation Dust Storm, in 2010, Fitzgerald said. The group went quiet in March 2013, shortly after Mandiant — the forenics investigative unit of FireEye — published a lengthy report on APT 1, which the company believes to be an elite cyber unit of the Chinese army.

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