Latest news with #HongKong-related
RTHK
5 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats Police say they received 440,000 intelligence reports on cyber threats targeting Hong Kong last year. Photo: RTHK Police have called on critical infrastructure operators to bolster their defensive efforts against cyber threats, after a number of firms were deemed to be vulnerable. The force said it inspected 90,000 assets controlled by critical infrastructure firms last year and discovered more than 4,500 loopholes in their systems. Officers identified three types of loopholes which are particularly risky. "First of all it's the employees' log-in credentials, that they are leaked or stolen because they don't have a very good mechanism in ensuring that these kind of credentials are in a high level [of protection]," senior superintendent Carmen Leung said. "And second, some organisations did not properly manage their domain and subdomain, allowing attacker to hijack those unused subdomains and create highly convincing phishing or scam websites. "And for the third part, we noticed some organisations having some misconfigured cloud storage service and unintentionally exposed their internal system in a web-facing environment." She said these organisations took remedial measures after being warned by the force, and no harm was done to their major services. Police said they received 440,000 tip-offs regarding Hong Kong-related cyber threats last year. The top three industries to be targeted were banking and finance, communication, and government departments. Superintendent Baron Chan stressed that a "useful and powerful preventive mechanism" is in place. "Luckily, under our protection mechanism, we collect these intelligence in a very earlier stage and we do analysis and then share [them] among our stakeholders, so that these intelligence can be used by different sectors, even though they are not the targets of these bad actors," he said. Police said they recorded 7,680 technology crime cases from January to March, up 1.1 percent year on year. The cases, most of which involved online shopping, inflicted losses of more than HK$1.43 billion. Officers urged shoppers to make use police's Scameter app to check the validity of recipients before making financial transactions. Police also issued their first ever cybersecurity report, which can be viewed online. It covers SAR and global cybersecurity trends, together with predictions in the coming year.
RTHK
5 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats
Caution urged for critical infrastructure over threats Police say they received 440,000 intelligence reports on cyber threats targeting Hong Kong last year. Photo: RTHK Police have called on critical infrastructure operators to bolster their defensive efforts against cyber threats, after a number of firms were deemed to be vulnerable. The force said it inspected 90,000 assets controlled by critical infrastructure firms last year and discovered more than 4,500 loopholes in their systems. Officers identified three types of loopholes which are particularly risky. "First of all it's the employees' log-in credentials, that they are leaked or stolen because they don't have a very good mechanism in ensuring that these kind of credentials are in a high level [of protection]," senior superintendent Carmen Leung said. "And second, some organisations did not properly manage their domain and subdomain, allowing attacker to hijack those unused subdomains and create highly convincing phishing or scam websites. "And for the third part, we noticed some organisations having some misconfigured cloud storage service and unintentionally exposed their internal system in a web-facing environment." She said these organisations took remedial measures after being warned by the force, and no harm was done to their major services. Police said they received 440,000 tip-offs regarding Hong Kong-related cyber threats last year. The top three industries to be targeted were banking and finance, communication, and government departments. Superintendent Baron Chan stressed that a "useful and powerful preventive mechanism" is in place. "Luckily, under our protection mechanism, we collect these intelligence in a very earlier stage and we do analysis and then share [them] among our stakeholders, so that these intelligence can be used by different sectors, even though they are not the targets of these bad actors," he said. Police said they recorded 7,680 technology crime cases from January to March, up 1.1 percent year on year. The cases, most of which involved online shopping, inflicted losses of more than HK$1.43 billion. Officers urged shoppers to make use police's Scameter app to check the validity of recipients before making financial transactions. Police also issued their first ever cybersecurity report, which can be viewed online. It covers SAR and global cybersecurity trends, together with predictions in the coming year.
Russia Today
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
China announces retaliatory sanctions against US officials
Beijing has decided to sanction individuals in the US as retaliation for Washington's recent measures against six Chinese officials in Hong Kong. China is targeting members of the US Congress, government officials, and NGO leaders 'who have acted egregiously regarding Hong Kong-related issues,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun announced during a regular briefing on Monday. He described the move as a rebuke to American 'interference' in the affairs of the autonomous city. In late March, the US State Department accused Beijing of using its laws to 'intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists' in Hong Kong, forcing them to leave the territory. The US imposed sanctions on those it deems responsible, including Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Paul Lam and five security-related officials. The Chinese government has yet to disclose the specific persons targeted by the new restrictions. Hong Kong operates under a legal and political framework shaped by its 156 years of British rule, which concluded in 1997. Throughout the 2010s, the city experienced multiple waves of violent protests, which activists claimed were a response to Beijing's encroachments on traditional freedoms, culminating in the unrest of 2019. Beijing alleges that those events were orchestrated by Western powers seeking to undermine Chinese sovereignty. In response, the national government passed a new security law in 2020, granting local authorities more power to address security threats. The legislation drew condemnation from the US and other Western nations, which claim it violates the terms of Hong Kong's handover to China. Tensions between the US and China are currently high in the face of new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration on imported goods from a variety of countries. China, widely seen as the primary target of the measures, has refused to make concessions and has urged other nations to resist US pressure. In addition to commercial disputes, Washington and Beijing are at odds over Taiwan, a self-governing Chinese island that relies on the US for its defense. While China advocates peaceful reunification, it has warned that any attempt to declare formal independence could trigger armed conflict. China contends that certain elements within the US government are pushing Taiwan toward this outcome.
HKFP
22-04-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
China to impose retaliatory sanctions on US lawmakers, gov't officials, NGO heads over Hong Kong issues
China will enact retaliatory sanctions against members of US Congress, government officials, and heads of NGOs who have 'acted egregiously' on Hong Kong-related issues, Beijing has announced. 'In response to the U.S.'s illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese officials in Hong Kong, China decided to impose sanction[s] on the U.S. [C]ongress members, government officials and heads of NGOs who acted egregiously on #HongKong-related issues,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on X on Monday. The US placed sanctions on six Hong Kong and Beijing officials last month for their involvement in what it called 'transnational repression' and the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law. The six officials included Secretary for Justice Paul Lam; then police commissioner Raymond Siu; and Dong Jingwei, a Beijing official appointed to oversee the city's national security affairs. Both Hong Kong and Beijing slammed the latest US sanctions earlier this month. At a press conference on Monday, Guo Jiakun called the US sanctions 'unlawful, unilateral, and indiscriminate,' accusing Washington of interfering in Hong Kong's and China's internal affairs. He also said the US sanctions had violated 'principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations.' Guo warned that any wrongful actions taken by the US would be met with 'resolute retaliation.' In its statement last month, the US State Department cited the extraterritorial application of the national security law to 'intimidate, silence, and harass' 19 democracy advocates overseas, including those living in the United States. Hong Kong has issued arrest warrants for 19 individuals currently residing overseas over national security allegations, including pro-democracy activist Joey Siu, a US citizen, as well as others who were granted political asylum in the country, with HK$1 million bounties on their heads. In August 2020, after Beijing imposed the national security law, the US imposed sanctions on 11 officials in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive John Lee, who was then the city's security chief. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
Los Angeles Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
China to retaliate with sanctions on US officials, NGO leaders over Hong Kong issues
HONG KONG — China will sanction United States officials, lawmakers and leaders of non-governmental organizations who it says have 'performed poorly' on Hong Kong issues, the foreign ministry announced. The U.S. in March sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in 'transnational repression' and acts threatening to further erode the city's autonomy. The officials included Justice Secretary Paul Lam, security office director Dong Jingwei and former police commissioner Raymond Siu. In a retaliatory move against Washington, D.C., on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in Beijing said China strongly condemned the acts, calling them 'despicable.' The U.S. has seriously interfered in the affairs of Hong Kong and violated international law principles, he said 'China has decided to impose sanctions on U.S. congressmen, officials, and NGO leaders who have performed poorly on Hong Kong-related issues,' Guo said, adding the response was made according to the anti-foreign sanctions law. He did not provide more details about who is being targeted. Guo also issued a warning about Hong Kong, saying the southern Chinese city's affairs are not subject to U.S. interference. Any actions considered wrong by the Chinese government that are taken on Hong Kong-related issues will be met with firm countermeasures and reciprocal retaliation, he said. The tit-for-tat sanctions over Hong Kong's human rights issues are the latest sign of rising tensions between Beijing and Washington, which are already locked in a trade war that has rattled businesses on both sides. Beijing separately warned other countries on Monday against making trade deals with the U.S. to China's detriment. The U.S. sanctions on officials in March were not the first related to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. During Donald Trump's first presidential term, his government imposed sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials for undermining Hong Kong's autonomy. In 2021, former President Joe Biden's administration slapped more sanctions on officials over Beijing's crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city. Since China imposed a national security law in 2020 to quell the 2019 massive anti-government protests, Hong Kong authorities have prosecuted many of the city's leading activists. Media outlets known for their critical reports of the government shut down following arrests of their top management. Dozens of civil society groups disbanded. Over the past two years, Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, with bounties of $1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,536) for information leading to each of their arrests. Some of them resided in the U.S. The years-long crackdown has drawn criticism from foreign governments, especially because the city was promised its Western-style civil liberties and semi-autonomy would be kept intact for at least 50 years during the 1997 handover. The Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the law is necessary for the city's stability. Leung writes for the Associated Press.
