A new investigation by CNN has uncovered evidence that Vietnam attempted to hack U.S. officials by posting fake news stories on social media.
According to the report, researchers discovered evidence that Vietnam had mobilized an army of trolls and bots to spread false information about various U.S. government policies and personnel on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The tactics used by the Vietnamese hackers included the creation of fake news stories and accounts to spread these false messages, as well as the infiltration of existing groups and pages.
In an effort to appear more credible, the attackers would impersonate U.S. government officials and spread information about U.S. policy and the Trump administration.
In addition, the researchers found evidence that the trolls and bots were used to target the U.S. election process.
To make matters worse, the researchers also found evidence of the hackers using malware to steal data from U.S. government systems.
While the exact extent of the damage caused by these attacks is unknown, it does show that state-level hacking is a growing concern in the world today.
These troubling findings demonstrate why countries must remain vigilant in ensuring their online security and protecting their citizens from potential state-sponsored attacks.
