BMW Infiltrated by Hackers Hunting for Automotive Trade Secrets

[LASER_oneXM]

Content source

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/bmw-infiltrated-by-hackers-hunting-for-automotive-trade-secrets/

The German automotive giant BMW discovered and monitored a group of hackers who infiltrated the company's networks and stayed active since at least the spring of 2019.
BMW's security team spotted the hackers after discovering an instance of the legitimate penetration testing tool Cobalt Strike on a company computer, a tool regularly used in red team testing scenarios to simulate adversaries.

Hackers monitored for months
Following the discovery, the hackers were allowed to stay active with the probable end purpose of collecting more info on who they were, how many systems they managed to compromise, and what data they were after, if any, as Munich-based Bayerischer Rundfunk's reports.

 

[upnorth]

The networks of South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai were also under attack as part of the same campaign, BR reports. There are no details regarding this specific incident and Hyundai refused to provide any comments when contacted. The tools and TTPs (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures) used by the hackers during the attacks lead to the OceanLotus advanced persistent threat (APT) group (aka as APT32 or Cobalt Kitty), an APT with an affinity for auto industry targets as of late.

 

[[correlate]]

BMW and Hyundai hacked by Vietnamese hackers, report claims
Hacks linked to Ocean Lotus (APT32), a group believed to operate with orders from the Vietnamese government.
German media is reporting that hackers suspected to have ties to the Vietnamese government have breached the networks of two car manufacturers, namely BMW and Hyundai.

BMW and Hyundai hacked by Vietnamese hackers, report claims

Hacks linked to Ocean Lotus (APT32), a group believed to operate with orders from the Vietnamese government.

www.zdnet.com

 

[oldschool]

Corporate espionage has been going on forever. Early Russian and post-War Soviet bloc models were often copies of U.S. and (later) Euro car company designs. A post-war Skoda model comes to mind, if I remember correctly, stolen from or based on a Hudson or Packard model of that era.

Edit it italics.

 

[Venustus]

Take a look at the latest stealth bomber from China which is based directly on the B-2 Spirit..courtesy of...Mr Gowadia.
The Russian nuclear program was bolstered by Klaus Fuchs and others...
There are numerous other examples of this type of technological espionage,from both the west and the east.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

Dyson came under heavy assault by the vacuum industry. His book Against the Odds show the level of assault he came under because he was going to disrupt the billion dollar vacuum industry in the USA. The book touches on corporate espionage, including the fact that companies do this between each other! When Dyson approached Hoover, they wanted to see all of the details of his technology. But they wanted him to sign an NDA. In the fine print, it gave Hoover exclusive ownership of all discussed technology within the USA. If he had signed it and had the meeting in good faith they would have owned it, and killed the tech.

China is really huge in doing this. They basically setup manufacturing for legitimate products. Copy the design specs, then setup shops to product nearly identical items but with substandard (even dangerous) changes. One of the things China does is utilize low rated capacitors so they can time the lifespan of anything they sell. Another common practice is they will manufacture something for American firms, under American specifications. Then at some point later they will start cheapening the components, and substandard product will go out. Often it can take firms months, even years to discover the manufacturing swaps and by then the Chinese firm has made millions in savings. This is often why people will buy something, love it, and it lasts a long time. Then they break it, and buy the same model item, and it is horrible.

Anyone with knowledge of electrical engineering knows you can place a lifespan on almost anything by changing the caps.

 

[oldschool]

Dyson

What a racket. My local vacuum guy was struggling to stay afloat because of all the junk, especially the overpriced Dyson junk, that people buy. He won't sell them because he only sells quality stuff, but he stays in business in part because of all the Dyson repairs. Repairing anything of theirs invariably means replacing whole components, e.g. 85$ drive belt assembly repair, instead of $3-$5 drive belt for good model. Their technology was done 60 years ago by others and promptly abandoned. Dyson products cost a lot in part because of all the advertising that they do. The word!

 

[ForgottenSeer 823865]

Another common practice is they will manufacture something for American firms, under American specifications. Then at some point later they will start cheapening the components, and substandard product will go out. Often it can take firms months, even years to discover the manufacturing swaps and by then the Chinese firm has made millions in savings. This is often why people will buy something, love it, and it lasts a long time. Then they break it, and buy the same model item, and it is horrible.

Also, China impose to foreign companies to hire Chinese engineers and labor forces if they want a factory being properly implemented in China, no choice for them. This is basically tech exchange for cheaper manufacturing costs.
However the foreign companies, in return, often impose the Chinese workforces (especially engineers) to be bound for x years before being free to leave.

I underlined "free to leave" because in the meantime Chinese gov setup their own factories waiting those engineers and labors to finish their contract and use the learned skills and tech to develop Chinese version of the acquired technology.
This is very smart and one of the reasons why China is now as good (and even better in some fields like mobile devices) than western companies in term of innovation and tech.

This is totally legal and and not espionage, if i'm not wrong, Airbus (French plane constructor) cooperated in such way. Of course there is also some political and economical arrangements behind the scene, not just for Airbus but all the French companies.

China gain dominance not because they try to destroy rivals companies/techs like many western companies does (we all see examples with security softs), but because they do a cheaper and as efficient version.

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

What a racket. My local vacuum guy was struggling to stay afloat because of all the junk, especially the overpriced Dyson junk, that people buy. He won't sell them because he only sells quality stuff, but he stays in business in part because of all the Dyson repairs. Repairing anything of theirs invariably means replacing whole components, e.g. 85$ drive belt assembly repair, instead of $3-$5 drive belt for good model. Their technology was done 60 years ago by others and promptly abandoned. Dyson products cost a lot in part because of all the advertising that they do. The word!

That's strange and the first time I have ever heard this. As an engineer, I sort of feel Dyson was the absolute peak of vacuum engineering. It did so many things vacuums up to it's time didn't do. A consumer could take half of it apart and clean it or remove debris with a few clicks, whereas prior vacuums required service in many cases. The bagless aspect was stellar, up to the point of Dyson's arrival shoddy, overpriced bagged vacuums dominated and they all lacked suction power. HEPA wasn't even a thing in US-Corporate vacuums before Dyson, and washable HEPA was seriously not a thing.. Those wretched scam bags were hundreds of millions in consumable nonsense milked out of US consumers. I had a DC14 Animal from 2006-2016 and loved it. Belt went bad, and was a quick fix ($5) from Amazon. However by then it was really dirty, some of the hoses were getting worn out. We decided to replace it with robotic vacuums and donated it to charity.

To support the robots I decided to buy one of the US-Manufacturer Dyson Copies. Big mistake.. No HEPA filter. Hose is 3ft long and will never stretch out. Tools are cheap feeling and inadequate. So black Friday, I picked up a Dyson v7 Animal Stick Vacuum for $175.. I must say, I am really really loving that thing. So Dyson is back in the spotlight in this home now. The fake US-Corporate Dyson? Maybe another charity donation...

 

[Venustus]

overpriced Dyson junk

Agreed

 

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

In my experience, only people that can't afford Dyson diss them. Understandable, it's human nature.

Back on topic... China..

 

[Venustus]

 

[averagedarren]

What a racket. My local vacuum guy was struggling to stay afloat because of all the junk, especially the overpriced Dyson junk, that people buy. He won't sell them because he only sells quality stuff, but he stays in business in part because of all the Dyson repairs. Repairing anything of theirs invariably means replacing whole components, e.g. 85$ drive belt assembly repair, instead of $3-$5 drive belt for good model. Their technology was done 60 years ago by others and promptly abandoned. Dyson products cost a lot in part because of all the advertising that they do. The word!

Have to agree with everything you said about Dyson. I remember my parents saving and getting one when they were first launched in the UK. At the time is was pretty revolutionary but I always remember one time when my mother couldn't hoover up as they had to save for 2 weeks to replace a broken part (can't remember what). There are lots of brands here in the UK that better Dyson, with the likes of Shark, Sebo and Numatic (Henry), and any mention of the word Dyson usually warrants the reply 'there s**t now'.

End of off topic vacuum rant.