A security breach was discovered by Amnesty International Canada in early October; the intrusion could possibly be associated with a state sponsored threat group presumably funded by China. According to the international human rights NGO, it was on October 5 that they first observed unusual activity on their IT infrastructure, which was the very day when the security breach was identified.

After becoming fully aware of the cyberattack, the NGO retained the services of Secureworks to conduct an investigation into the cyberattack and strengthen its overall cybersecurity posture.

Amnesty International Canada reported that initial findings from their research "suggest that a digital security compromise was committed using tools and tactics connected with certain advanced persistent threat organizations (APTs)".

Secureworks, overseeing the cybersecurity investigation, initially concluded that "a threat organization supported or assigned by the Chinese state" was responsible for the cyberattack.

Consistent with the known behavior and tools of Chinese state hackers, the cyberattack was attributed to a Chinese threat group based on the attackers' tactics, methods, and procedures (TTPs) and the material they targeted.

While no proof that information was stolen yet established…

However, Secureworks has not yet found any evidence that indicates the hackers stole donor or membership information.

The organization informed its employees, funders, and other stakeholders of the security compromise and reported it to the proper authorities.

Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, stated that this example of cyberespionage exemplifies the increasingly perilous environment in which activists, journalists, and members of civil society must operate.

"There has never been a more crucial and relevant time for our efforts to investigate and condemn these activities. We will never stop condemning governments' use of digital monitoring to restrict human rights and shedding attention on instances of human rights breaches throughout the world." Given Amnesty International's observations and opinion on the Chinese government's persistent violation of human rights, the attack is not shocking.