View source for Organization:PLA Unit 61398

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name =People's Liberation Army Unit 61398
|native_name=61398部队
|image=
|caption=
|dates= 
|country={{flag|People's Republic of China}}
|allegiance=
|command_structure=
|branch=[[File:China Emblem PLA.svg|23px]] People's Liberation Army
|type= [[Cyber force]]
|specialization=Cyber warfare <br> [[Social:Electronic warfare|Electronic warfare]]
|size=
|garrison= Tonggang Road, Pudong, [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]]
|commander1_label=
|commander1=
|commander2=
|commander2_label=
|commander3_label=
|commander3=
|nickname=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles=
* [[GhostNet|Operation GhostNet]]
* [[Operation Aurora]]
* [[Operation Shady RAT]]
|notable_commanders =
|anniversaries =
|identification_symbol=
}}
'''PLA Unit 61398''' ({{zh|61398部队}}, [[Pinyin]]: 61398 ''bùduì'') is the Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD)<ref name=MandiantAPT1>{{cite web|url=http://intelreport.mandiant.com/Mandiant_APT1_Report.pdf|title=APT1: Exposing One of China's Cyber Espionage Units|publisher=Mandiant|accessdate=19 February 2013}}</ref> of a People's Liberation Army [[Advanced persistent threat|advanced persistent threat]] unit that has been alleged to be a source of Chinese computer hacking attacks.<ref name="NYT 2013-02-18">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/technology/chinas-army-is-seen-as-tied-to-hacking-against-us.html?emc=na&_r=1&|title= Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S.|publisher={{wipe|New York Times}}|author=David E. Sanger, David Barboza and Nicole Perlroth|date=18 February 2013|accessdate=19 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/19/chinese-military-unit-prolific-hacking|title=Chinese military unit behind 'prolific and sustained hacking'|publisher=The Guardian|date=19 February 2013|accessdate=19 February 2013}}</ref>

== History ==
On 19 May 2014 the US Department of Justice announced that a Federal grand jury had returned an indictment of five 61398 officers on charges of theft of confidential business information and intellectual property from U.S. commercial firms and of planting [[Malware|malware]] on their computers.<ref>Finkle, J., Menn, J., Viswanatha, J. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cybercrime-usa-china-idUSKCN0J42M520141120 ''U.S. accuses China of cyber spying on American companies.''] Reuters, 20 Nov 2014.</ref><ref>Clayton, M. [http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Cyber-Conflict-Monitor/2014/0519/US-indicts-five-in-China-s-secret-Unit-61398-for-cyber-spying-on-US-firms ''US indicts five in China's secret 'Unit 61398' for cyber-spying.''] Christian Science Monitor, 19 May 2014</ref> The five are Huang Zhenyu (黄振宇), Wen Xinyu (文新宇), Sun Kailiang (孙凯亮), Gu Chunhui (顾春晖), and Wang Dong (王东).  Forensic evidence traces the base of operations to a 12-story building off Datong Road in a public, mixed-use area of Pudong in Shanghai.<ref name="NYT 2013-02-18"/> The group is also known by various other names including "Advanced Persistent Threat 1" ("APT1"), "the Comment group" and "Byzantine Candor", a codename given by US intelligence agencies since 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/chinese-attacks-byzantine-candor-penetrated-federal-agencies-says-leaked-ca/2010-12-06 |title=Chinese attacks 'Byzantine Candor' penetrated federal agencies, says leaked cable |author=David Perera |date=6 December 2010 |website=fiercegovernmentit.com |publisher=Fierce Government IT |access-date= |quote=}}</ref><ref name="CSMonitor">{{cite web|last=Clayton|first=Mark|title=Stealing US business secrets: Experts ID two huge cyber 'gangs' in China|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0914/Stealing-US-business-secrets-Experts-ID-two-huge-cyber-gangs-in-China|publisher=CSMonitor|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=14 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg EU DC"/><ref>{{cite news|title=China's Comment Group Hacks Europe—and the World|url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-02/chinas-comment-group-hacks-europe-and-the-world|accessdate=12 February 2013|newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=2 August 2012|author=Michael Riley|author2=Dune Lawrence}}</ref>

A report by the [[Computer security|computer security]] firm [[Company:Mandiant|Mandiant]] stated that PLA Unit 61398 is believed to operate under the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department (GSD) Third Department (总参三部二局).<ref name=MandiantAPT1/> and that there is evidence that it contains, or is itself, an entity Mandiant calls APT1, part of the [[Advanced persistent threat|advanced persistent threat]] that has attacked a broad range of corporations and government entities around the world since at least 2006. APT1 is described as comprising four large networks in Shanghai, two of which serve the Pudong New Area. It is one of more than 20 APT groups with origins in China.<ref name=MandiantAPT1/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/china-hacking-pla-unit-61398-2013-2|title=REPORT: An Overwhelming Number Of The Cyber-Attacks On America Are Coming From This Particular Army Building In China|publisher=Business Insider|date= 18 February 2013|author=Joe Weisenthal and Geoffrey Ingersoll|accessdate=19 February 2013}}</ref> The Third and Fourth Department, responsible for [[Social:Electronic warfare|electronic warfare]], are believed to comprise the PLA units mainly responsible for infiltrating and manipulating computer networks.<ref name="huffingtonpost professional">{{cite web|last=Bodeen|first=Christopher|title=Sign That Chinese Hackers Have Become Professional: They Take Weekends Off|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/25/chinese-hackers_n_2756914.html|publisher=The Huffington Post|date=25 February 2013|accessdate=27 February 2013}}</ref>

The group often compromises internal software "comment" features on legitimate web pages to infiltrate target computers that access the sites, leading it to be known as "the Comment group".<ref name="NYMag Comment Crew">{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Adam|title=Meet 'Comment Crew,' China's Military-Linked Hackers|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/meet-comment-crew-chinas-military-hackers.html|work=NYMag.com|publisher=New York Media|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=19 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Comment Group: The hackers hunting for clues about you|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21371608|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=12 February 2013|author=Dave Lee|date=12 February 2013}}</ref> The collective has stolen [[Social:Trade secret|trade secret]]s and other confidential information from numerous foreign businesses and organizations over the course of seven years such as [[Company:Lockheed Martin|Lockheed Martin]], Telvent, and other companies in the shipping, aeronautics, arms, energy, manufacturing, engineering, electronics, financial, and software sectors.<ref name="CSMonitor"/>

Dell SecureWorks says it believed the group includes the same group of attackers behind [[Operation Shady RAT]], an extensive computer espionage campaign uncovered in 2011 in which more than 70 organizations over a five-year period, including the United Nations, government agencies in the United States, Canada, {{wipe|South Korea}}, Taiwan and Vietnam were targeted.<ref name="NYT 2013-02-18"/>

The attacks documented in the summer of 2011 represent a fragment of the Comment group's attacks, which go back at least to 2002, according to incident reports and investigators. FireEye, Inc. alone has tracked hundreds of targets in the last three years and estimates the group has attacked more than 1,000 organizations.<ref name="Bloomberg EU DC">{{cite web |last1=Riley |first1=Michael |title=Hackers Linked to China's Army Seen From EU to D.C.|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-26/china-hackers-hit-eu-point-man-and-d-c-with-byzantine-candor.html|publisher=[[Company:Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]|accessdate=24 February 2013|author2=Dune Lawrence|date=26 July 2012}}</ref>

Most activity between [[Malware|malware]] embedded in a compromised system and the malware's controllers takes place during business hours in Beijing's time zone, suggesting that the group is professionally hired, rather than private hackers inspired by patriotic passions.<ref name="huffingtonpost professional"/>

== Public position of the Chinese government ==
Until 2013 the Government of China has consistently denied that it is involved in hacking.<ref name="MW Feb 20">{{cite web|last=Xu |first=Weiwei|title=China denies hacking claims|url=http://www.morningwhistle.com/html/2013/PoliticsSociety_0220/217214.html|publisher=Morning Whistle|accessdate=8 April 2013 |date=20 February 2013}}</ref> In response to the [[Company:Mandiant|Mandiant]] Corporation report about Unit 61398, Hong Lei, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said such allegations were "unprofessional."<ref name="MW Feb 20"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Hello, Unit 61398|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/02/chinese-cyber-attacks?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709|accessdate=5 March 2013|newspaper=The Economist|date=19 February 2013}}</ref>

In 2013 China changed its position and openly admitted to having secretive cyber warfare units in both the military and the civilian part of the government{{snd}}however, the details of their activities were left to speculation.<ref>{{cite news|title=China Finally Admits focusing on Cyber Warfare|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/03/chinese-nuclear-strategy-full-report.pdf | date=19 March 2015}}</ref> As a show of force towards the rest of the global community the Chinese government now openly lists their abilities when it comes to digital spying and network attack capabilities.{{cn|date=December 2015}}

== See also ==
* Chinese espionage in the United States
* [[Organization:PLA Unit 61486|PLA Unit 61486]]
* Force 47 of Vietnam 
* [[Organization:National Security Agency|National Security Agency]] of the United States
* Tailored Access Operations of the United States
* [[Signals intelligence]]
* [[Organization:Syrian Electronic Army|Syrian Electronic Army]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{Hacking in the 2010s}}

[[Category:Hacking (computer security)]]
[[Category:Injection exploits]]
[[Category:Web security exploits]]

{{Sourceattribution|PLA Unit 61398|1}}