MANILA, Philippines – Chinese hackers are said to have infiltrated the computer networks of the Vatican over the past 3 months, according to a new report from Insikt Group, a threat research team within US-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future to track the intrusions.

The report, released on Tuesday, July 28, said the hacking group called RedDelta also targeted the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Study Mission to China, and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, Italy, among others.

Among the tactics used to perform the intrusions was the use of a weaponized lure document which hid a customized payload that communicated with the C2 domain systeminfor[.]com.

Insikt explained, “The document purported to be an official Vatican letter addressed to the current head of the Hong Kong Study Mission to China. It is currently unclear whether the actors created the document themselves, or whether it is a legitimate document they were able to obtain and weaponize.”

The Vatican intrusions, which happened from mid-May until at least July 21,  occurred prior to a September 2020 renewal of the 2018 China-Vatican provisional agreement which revised the terms of oversight over the Catholic community in China, including who would be appointed as bishops.

Insikt Group suggests the suspected intrusions would provide RedDelta “insight into the negotiating position of the Holy See ahead of the deal’s September 2020 renewal.”

It added the additional targets would also be valuable intelligence sources for monitoring purposes, as well as for tracking its position on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

Aside from targeting religious institutions, the report also said it targeted the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in India, the Airports Authority in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs in Indonesia, and a number of unidentified victims in Myanmar, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, and Australia.

The New York Times, in its report, meanwhile said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, Vatican officials with experience dealing with China declined to comment as they did not have sufficient information about the alleged hack.

A full copy of the report and analysis can be accessed here. – Rappler.com