Wed 29 July 2020:
Chinese hackers have infiltrated the Vatican ahead of an anticipated negotiation over a 2018 deal that saw China gain more control over the Catholic church in the Asian country, a private cybersecurity firm said Tuesday.
Recorded Future said in a report that from early May, Chinese-state sponsored cybersecurity threat RedDelta has targeted the Vatican, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Study Mission to China and the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Italy.
U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said in the report that the attacks targeted the Vatican and the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong, including the head of the Hong Kong Study Mission, who is seen as Pope Francis’ de facto representative to China.
The report said the targets included communications between the Hong Kong diocese and the Vatican and used similar tools and methods previously identified with Chinese state-backed hacking groups.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Beijing routinely denies it engages in any state-backed hacking attempts, and says it is a victim of such threats.
A Vatican spokesperson had no immediate comment. The Hong Kong Study Mission did not respond to a request for comment.
The reported hacking follows an extremely rare meeting between Beijing and the Vatican’s foreign minister in Germany earlier this year, marking the highest-level official encounter between the two sides in decades.
Relations between the two have been improving and they have been expected to renew the provisional two-year deal on the operation of the Catholic Church in China this September.
A Chinese delegation had been due to visit the Vatican as part of continuing talks but there was no indication if or when they would travel because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior Vatican source has said.
The United States has increasingly taken a strong hand with Beijing, particularly over its human rights abuses committed against Hong Kong and its Uyghur Mulsim population in the Xinjiang region, imposing legislation punishing it for its transgressions.
China has repeatedly denied the accusations, demanding the United States to stop meddling in its internal affairs and threatening retaliatory actions.
