People's Republic of China

Summary

A hacker collective named Paw Security launched cyberattacks against Chinese government and corporate websites, motivated by opposition to animal cruelty practices, particularly the treatment of dogs. The group initially scanned thousands of websites for vulnerabilities before disrupting services, targeting entities including the official government portal, major state-owned companies in energy, telecommunications, and automotive sectors, as well as ministries overseeing justice, defense, and environmental protection. The attacks caused temporary outages across multiple high-profile online platforms, though most affected services were subsequently restored. The hackers publicly claimed responsibility via social media, framing their actions as retaliation against perceived inhumane treatment of animals.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

The Paw Security hacker collective initiated a cyber offensive against Chinese entities between August 4 and August 6, 2014. The group first announced their campaign via a Pastebin manifesto citing animal welfare grievances, specifically condemning China's dog culling and transport practices. On August 4, they compromised the official Chinese government website (gov.cn), marking the operation's start. The following day, Paw Security tweeted about scanning 3,000 Chinese websites for vulnerabilities, though their attacks had already commenced prematurely. By August 6, the hackers expanded their targets to include Sinopec Limited (China's largest oil/gas company), China Mobile Communications Corporation, and Sina Corp (online media), disrupting their websites. The group publicly claimed responsibility through Twitter updates tagged #OpNoHunt and #PawSecVSChina, directing their statements at Chinese officials.

The attacks continued systematically against critical infrastructure and state institutions. Paw Security subsequently disrupted websites of the National Tobacco Corporation, Hong Kong Post, and multiple Chinese ministries: Justice, Public Security, National Defense, and Environmental Protection. China’s Southern Power Grid Company and Zhongxing Automobile Co Ltd were also impacted, with the latter’s site remaining inaccessible during the reporting period. Most affected organizations restored their online services shortly after the incidents. No defensive measures or technical responses from Chinese authorities were documented in available reports. The operation concluded after targeting 10+ entities across government, energy, telecommunications, transportation, and media sectors, with service disruptions constituting the primary operational impact.

Sources

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