China’s Cyber Rat Race: 20,000 Fortinet Devices Compromised in Espionage Campaign

Between 2022 and 2023, Chinese attackers compromised at least 20,000 Fortinet devices, including Dutch government systems, for cyber-espionage. Using a remote access trojan called Coathanger, the attackers remained persistent on these devices despite patches. The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) confirmed the broader…

Hot Take:

Looks like Fortinet devices had a party, and China RSVP’d with a cyber-espionage twist! Who knew firewalls could be so social?

Key Points:

– Between 2022 and 2023, over 20,000 Fortinet devices were compromised by Chinese attackers.
– The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) confirmed the breach was larger than initially believed.
– The vulnerability exploited was a remote code execution flaw (CVE-2022-42475).
– Attackers utilized a remote access trojan (RAT) dubbed Coathanger.
– Many devices remain infected even after patches were made available.

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