Chinese cyberspy hackers target Cambodia as elections loom

People install a Cambodian People's Party (CPP) flag onto their car in Phnom Penh on July 6, 2018, ahead of the national elections set for July 29. / AFP PHOTO / TANG CHHIN Sothy

Chinese cyber spies have targeted Cambodian government institutions, opposition party members, diplomats and media, possibly to gather information ahead of elections later this month, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc. 

The hacks are suspected to come from a Chinese cyber espionage group known as TEMP.Periscope, according to a report by FireEye, which had previously linked the same group to attacks on targets including US engineering and defence companies with interests in the South China Sea, a key transport waterway that China claims mostly for itself.