The china supercomputer at the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin was reportedly breached, with a hacker taking an estimated more than 10 petabytes of data, CNN reported.
The dataset allegedly includes classified defence documents and missile schematics, along with research linked to fighter jets and advanced war simulations, according to the report.
Samples reviewed by experts who examined the leak also show material across aerospace engineering, military technology, bioinformatics and fusion simulations, and include technical files and renderings of bombs and missiles.
Those samples contain documents marked secret in Chinese, and the party posting previews claimed links to organisations such as the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the National University of Defense Technology, according to the report.
Methods And Implications
Cybersecurity researchers who examined the leaked material say the attacker used a compromised VPN entry point and then deployed a botnet to extract data in small chunks, avoiding alarms, the report said.
The same researchers described the siphoning technique as not technologically sophisticated but effective, noting the operation appears to have continued for about six months and that access seemed to have been gained with relative ease.
The dataset surfaced online when an account calling itself FlamingChina posted samples to an anonymous Telegram channel and began offering limited previews for a few thousand dollars, the report says.
Full access to the complete dataset was reportedly offered at prices in the hundreds of thousands, payable in cryptocurrency, and multiple experts who reviewed the material believe it appears genuine, though the claims cannot be independently verified, CNN notes.
The National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin supports more than 6,000 organisations across advanced science, aerospace and defence research, and the report says the stolen material could have significant intelligence value for foreign governments or rival agencies.
