Chinese hackers snooped on five EU ministries, says US security firm

Chinese hackers reportedly snooped on five European foreign ministries with malware-infected emails over the summer, new research from US security company FireEye has revealed.

The hackers sent the infected emails with attachments purporting to detail a possible US intervention in Syria to individuals involved in the G20 talks.

According to the BBC, the nine computers compromised in the attack had been targeted in the run-up to the annual summit of the G20 group of nations, including China.

The hackers group, dubbed Ke3chang, for a week in August, didn't steal any data but malware was observed.

FireEye researcher Narottama Villeneuve said that it appeared to be about network reconnaissance.

The researchers said that the Ke3chang group had been active since at least 2010, and targeted the aerospace, energy and manufacturing industries apart from hi-tech companies and governments.

Villeneuve said that the hackers were based in China but it was difficult to determine from a technology point of view how or if it is connected to a nation state, the report added.