VW was targeted by Chinese government hackers for years

It seems Volkswagen has been spying for years, reports “Spiegel”. So the surveillance should lead to Chinese government hackers. The magazine has 40 internal documents that are supposed to prove the hacking. The papers could be used to reconstruct a previously unknown mass cyberattack on Volkswagen. A clear objective: knowledge from what was once the largest automobile company in the Western world.

Therefore, hackers targeted the company as early as 2010. In 2011 and 2012 they stole data. In 2013 they gained administrator rights – and with them many access options. A good six months later, in June 2014, the data thieves returned. In addition to VW, they also attacked sister brands Audi and Bentley, reports “Spiegel”.

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All the attacks were carried out by the same criminals, which is a theory that seems “highly likely” according to Volkswagen’s internal analysis. The attackers are said to have stolen up to 19,000 files. The group listed “petrol engine development”, “transmission development” and “dual clutch transmission” as “identified goals”. Unknowns were also targeting alternative driving technology concepts such as electric or fuel cells. “They were interested in the infection control program, in the technical guidelines, for example how to organize the transfer of automatic changes,” one of the experts familiar with the case reports to “Spiegel”.