Even as Russia’s involvement in the US Presidential polls continues to fuel political debate, cyber experts have found yet another high-profile case of a hacking group trying to influence a nation’s elections.

Cyber experts from FireEye, a security solutions company, have found that a Chinese espionage group, TEMP.Periscope, has targeted several Cambodian entities, particularly those connected with elections due in that country later this month.

This, the firm indicates, is the shape of things to come in national elections of key nations. “This compromise gives additional indications that it will target the political systems of strategically important countries,” it points out.

“Analysis of command and control logs on the servers revealed multiple Cambodian entities, primarily those relating to the upcoming July 2018 elections, have been compromised. In addition, a separate spear phishing email analysed by us indicates concurrent targeting of opposition figures within Cambodia by TEMP.Periscope,” FireEye has said.

“TEMP.Periscope used the same infrastructure for a range of activities against other more traditional targets, including the defence industrial base in the US and a chemical company based in Europe,” it claimed.

The entities and individuals targeted includes the National Election Commission, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Cambodian Senate, Ministry of Economics and Finance, a Member of Parliament, two Cambodian diplomats and several media entities.

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