French aircraft manufacturer Airbus has been hit by a series of cyberattacks suspected to have been carried out by Chinese entities, AFP reports. The attacks are said to have been carried out via a system for Airbus suppliers and consultants, the news agency writes.
Airbus said in January that its systems had been compromised by cyberattacks, which bore the hallmarks of hacking groups linked to Chinese intelligence.
The breach is linked to an intrusion investigated last year, when US authorities accused Chinese intelligence agents and hackers of breaking into and stealing information from a jet engine development project.
The company that developed the jet engine was a supplier to both Airbus and American competitor Boeing, writes AFP.
The news agency has had several sources inside the US intelligence apparatus, who state that the supplier is jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and that the consulting firm is French Expleo. Two other suppliers remain unknown, according to AFP.
The attacks in the past year have been four in number of what are categorized as serious hacking attacks, according to the sources. However, there have also been attacks before.
The engines that the attackers were looking for information about are the A400M, an engine for military transport aircraft, and the A350.
In October, US authorities indicted a division head in the Chinese security service for stealing trade secrets from players in the aviation industry, including from General Electric's jet engine unit GE Aviation.
Source: Nyhestbyrån direct
