Amnesty International Canada data breach linked to Chinese threat group

Amnesty International Canada data breach overview: 

• Who: Amnesty International Canada disclosed that it was the target of a data breach that it believes was conducted by a threat group sponsored by China. 
• Why: Amnesty International Canada says the data breach was the result of a “sophisticated digital security breach.”
• Where: Canada

Amnesty International Canada has disclosed that it suffered a data breach as the result of a “sophisticated digital security breach” conducted by what it believes to have been a threat group sponsored by China. 

In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International Canada said it first discovered the data breach in October after the human rights organization spotted “suspicious activity”  happening within its IT infrastructure. 

Amnesty International Canada said that, upon finding the data breach, it took “immediate action” by using forensic investigators and cyber security experts to protect its systems and investigate how the attack could have occurred. 

Forensic experts working with the cyber-security firm Secureworks have established that the cyber attack was likely conducted by a threat group that was either sponsored or tasked by the Chinese state, according to Amnesty International Canada. 

“As an organization advocating for human rights globally, we are very aware that we may be the target of state-sponsored attempts to disrupt or surveil our work,” Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada said, in a statement. 

Amnesty International Canada says no evidence donor or membership data was compromised in data breach

Amnesty International Canada said that its investigation into the data breach has not revealed any evidence of donor or membership data being compromised and that it will “continue to work with security experts to mitigate against potential future risks.”

“These (cyber attacks) will not intimidate us and the security and privacy of our activists, staff, donors, and stakeholders remain our utmost priority,” Nivyabandi said. 

Last month, Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare disclosed that it was the victim of a data breach that it says may have exposed personal information such as customer names, email addresses, and account balances, among other things. 

Have you been impacted by a data breach? Let us know in the comments! 

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