Tag: Kem Sokha

Last month, the daughter of a jailed Cambodian opposition party leader received an email from a well-seeming activist at a reputed Cambodian non-profit. But a monthslong investigation by California security-research firm FireEye revealed that Kem was among several Cambodians likely targeted by a far more formidable actor: China. FireEye said Wednesday it found evidence that a Chinese hacking team it believes is linked to Beijing has penetrated computer systems belonging to Cambodia's election commission, opposition leaders and media in the months leading up to Cambodia's July 29 election. The Foreign Ministry in China has rejected these allegations. After the European Union and the United States withdrew their support for the election, China stepped in to donate $20 million to Cambodia's National Election Committee, said Hang Puthea, a spokesman for the body. Monovithya Kem, the daughter of Kem Sokha and an official in his now-disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party, said she has frequently been targeted by Cambodian hackers in the past, but the revelation of potential Chinese involvement shocked her. On the hackers' server, FireEye researchers found records showing that the group had compromised Cambodia's election commission and several Cambodian ministries. FireEye says the group appears state-linked because it seems to be seeking information that would benefit the Chinese government. In January, Taiwan prosecutors said they found evidence that China's Taiwan Affairs Office promised to pay a Taiwanese politician $500,000 to run a website publishing articles promoting unification. The website of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was defaced by hackers believed to be from China earlier this month.