Chinese hackers allegedly stole information from India, the Dalai Lama and the UN

New research suggests that cyber spies are systematically targeting and compromising computer systems, particularly in India, the offices of the Dalai Lama, the United Nations and several other countries.

The investigation by the Warfare Monitor and Shadow Server found large quantities of stolen documents belonging to governments and business, including encrupted diplomatic letters and secret documents.

The recovered documents also include 1,500 letters sent from the Dalai Lama's office between January and November 2009.

Sensitive personal, financial, and business information belonging to Indian officials was systematically harvested by the attackers, who operate servers in China, claimed the report.

There is no direct evidence that the documents were stolen from Indian government computers. They may have been compromised as a result of being copied by Indian officials onto personal computers.

But the attackers may have made use of social media systems like Twitter, blogs, and Yahoo! Mail, to steal the information, said the report.

Although the identity and motivation of the attackers remain unknown, the report provides evidence that the attackers operated or staged their operations from Chengdu province in China.