When it comes to cyber espionage , the Vatican might not seem like an obvious target. But now it has been targeted by hackers who appear to be linked to China. China and the Vatican are expected to begin negotiations in September to renew a deal to control the Catholic Church in China. Chinese leaders may be looking for an advantage — insider knowledge of how the Holy See planned to approach the negotiating table, according to a report released by Recorded Future , a cybersecurity firm . The report says the hackers targeted the Vatican, the Diocese of Hong Kong and its head, the pope’s de facto representative in China . In addition, the report says China used malware to gain access to the Vatican ’s internal networks .
Specifically, analysts at Recorded Future reported that they discovered a suspicious Chinese-funded campaign targeting several high-profile entities affiliated with the Catholic Church, ahead of the potential renewal of the historic China -Vatican agreement in September 2020. The attacks targeted, among other things, communications between the Diocese of Hong Kong and the Vatican, while the tools and methods used were similar to those of certified cyberattacks by groups supported by the Chinese government.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said China is a “strong advocate” of cybersecurity, stressing that sufficient, documented and clear evidence is required, not speculation and scenarios. Beijing denies any involvement in attempted cyberattacks, claiming that it is itself a victim of such threats. The cyberattack follows a rare meeting between Beijing and the Vatican’s foreign minister in Germany earlier this year. It was the highest-level official meeting between the two countries in decades.
Relations between the two countries appear to be improving steadily, and a renewal of a temporary two-year agreement on the operation of the Catholic Church in China was expected to be signed in September. Chinese representatives were also due to travel to the Vatican for the talks, but because of the COVID-19, it is not known if or when they will travel, a Vatican source said. The source, who spoke to Reuters before the attacks were reported, said it was not yet clear whether the agreement would be automatically renewed because of the pandemic, and for how long.
