Arno Schuetze, John Miller and David Dolan report:
German blue-chip companies BASF, Siemens, Henkel (HNKG_p.DE) along with a host of others said on Wednesday they had been victims of cyber attacks, confirming a German media report which said the likely culprit was a state-backed Chinese group.
Public broadcaster ARD said the hackers used a type of malware called Winnti, which allows attackers to remotely access a victim’s computer network. ARD said an analysis of the malware code showed which companies were targeted by a group likely working for the Chinese government.
Alongside the German firms named, companies including drug maker Roche, hotels group Marriott, airline Lion Air, conglomerate Sumitomo, and chemicals group Shin-Etsu were also targeted by the hackers, ARD reported.
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