China-based hacking group behind hundreds of attacks on US companies

A group of between 50 and 100 professional hackers operating out of China has been systematically targeting businesses, military and government agencies around the world since at least 2009, security vendor Symantec said in a report.

The group, called Hidden Lynx, is believed connected to the Operation Aurora espionage campaign of 2010 in which dozens of major companies, including Google and Microsoft, were targeted. The hacking group also used the security services of a vendor called Bit9 to sign a total of 32 Trojans and malicious scripts, which it then used to try and infiltrate companies, including a major defense contractor.