Chinese cybersecruity team uncovers cyber attack covering 45 countries and regions

A cyber attack using Internet backdoors to monitor 45 countries and regions including China for over a decade has been uncovered by a Beijing-based private cybersecurity lab.

The attack was by an organization affiliated with the US National Security Agency, and followed patterns of the technical operating manuals revealed by former CIA analyst Edward Snowden, who in 2013 exposed the NSA's secret PRISM surveillance program, the Qi An Pangu Lab said on Thursday.

It is the first time a Chinese cybersecurity team has publicly exposed an Internet attack, along with full technical details.

It represents improved awareness of cybersecurity – a critical part of national security for China and governments around the world.

As well as China, other countries covered in this latest attack include Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

It's an advanced persistent threat attack – an illicit and long-term presence on a network to highly sensitive data.

It's a "national-level cybersecurity confrontation," based on the attack's high technical complexity, architectural flexibility, and ultra-high-strength analysis, Han Zhengguang, founder of Pangu Lab, said in a statement.