In 2018, Chinese MSS actors executed 'Operation Cloud Hopper,' targeting IT service providers to steal sensitive data. Which actors carried out this operation?

In 2018, Chinese MSS actors executed 'Operation Cloud Hopper,' targeting IT service providers to steal sensitive data. Which actors carried out this operation?

• A. Chinese MSS actors
• B. Russian GRU
• C. US Cyber Command
• D. Iranian MSS

Answer: (A)

Operation Cloud Hopper was a Chinese MSS-led espionage campaign that targeted IT service providers to access the networks of their clients. Analysts attribute this operation to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, linking it to the APT group commonly known as APT10 (MenuPass/Stone Panda), active around 2017–2018. The campaign’s approach—compromising MSPs to reach numerous client networks and exfiltrate data—fits established patterns associated with Chinese state-sponsored espionage and with APT10 in particular. In contrast, the other options correspond to actors whose publicly documented campaigns and targets differ from Cloud Hopper, so they aren’t the attribution for this operation.

Operation Cloud Hopper was a Chinese MSS-led espionage campaign that targeted IT service providers to access the networks of their clients. Analysts attribute this operation to the Chinese Ministry of State Security, linking it to the APT group commonly known as APT10 (MenuPass/Stone Panda), active around 2017–2018. The campaign’s approach—compromising MSPs to reach numerous client networks and exfiltrate data—fits established patterns associated with Chinese state-sponsored espionage and with APT10 in particular. In contrast, the other options correspond to actors whose publicly documented campaigns and targets differ from Cloud Hopper, so they aren’t the attribution for this operation.