Front Company or Real Business in China’s Cyber Operations
Distinguishing whether entities are front companies or real businesses can help us understand the strategy, scalability, and persistency of Chinese state-sponsored cyber operations.
The Natto Team’s previous post about Intrusion Truth questioned the pattern Intrusion Truth identified in Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) cyber operations. Intrusion Truth described the pattern thus: “a regional office of the MSS (Ministry of State Security) creates a company, hires a team of hackers and attacks Western targets.” In this telling, the MSS creates a company which is commonly known as a front company. However, the i-SOON leaks confirm Natto Team’s previous assessments that the pattern is more nuanced. The MSS not only creates companies that are purely front companies, but also works with existing companies such as i-SOON, which are real businesses. The Natto Team assesses it is important to distinguish whether entities involved in cyber operations are front companies or real businesses.1 This nuance can help understanding the strategy, scalability, and persistency of China’s state-sponsored cyber operations.
Front Company Definition
According …
