Latest news with #Taiwan-based
The Star
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Vanzo taps Taiwan market with exclusive Watsons distribution deal
KUALA LUMPUR: Vanzo Holdings Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary, Vanzo Asia Sdn Bhd (VASB), has entered into an agreement with Taiwan-based Xishangxi International Marketing Co Ltd (XIMCL). Under the agreement, XIMCL is appointed as the exclusive distributor of VASB's products in both online and physical Watsons stores in Taiwan, Vanzo said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. VASB has the right to authorise XIMCL to distribute the products to other key retail channels such as pharmacies, supermarkets, minimarkets and convenience stores. Vanzo said the agreement is for a two-year period, commencing on June 20, 2025 and expiring on June 19, 2027. 'The agreement enables VASB to enter Taiwan's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market through Watsons. The products are expected to be available to Taiwanese consumers across Watsons' over 500 outlets starting September 2025. 'This initiative shall enable VASB to further expand its market presence in Taiwan's FMCG market through additional key retail channels, including pharmacies, supermarkets, minimarkets and convenience stores,' Vanzo said.
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First Post
a day ago
- Politics
- First Post
No limits, no trust: China mounts secret cyberwar on Russia, says report
Experts believe that while China is far wealthier than Russia, it feels its armed forces lack battlefield experience. Now, Beijing is likely seeking intelligence on Russia's activities in Ukraine read more In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping attend a concert marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China and opening of China-Russia Years of Culture at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on May 16, 2024. (Photo via AFP) China-backed groups have intensified hacking attempts on Russian companies and government agencies since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the New York Times has reported, citing 'cyberanalysts'. This cyber warfare has persisted despite both leaders, Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, publicly hailing their 'no limits' ties. Just last year, TeamT5, a Taiwan-based cybersecurity research firm, established that one of China-backed groups was behind a cyberattack on a major Russian engineering firm in the hunt for information on nuclear submarines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Experts believe that while China is far wealthier than Russia, it feels its armed forces lack battlefield experience. Now, it might be hoping to plug some holes using Russia's experience in the Ukraine war. 'China likely seeks to gather intelligence on Russia's activities, including on its military operation in Ukraine, defence developments and other geopolitical manoeuvres,' the Times quoted TeamT5's Che Chang as saying. 'Leaked' Russian document dubs China as an 'enemy' The Times cites a classified counterintelligence document from Russia's domestic security agency, known as the FSB, to throw light on how the Russia-China partnership is plagued with deep mistrust. The document refers to China as an ' enemy ' and says that Beijing was actively looking for defence expertise and technology and is trying to learn from Russia's military experience in Ukraine. Notably, Russia has never acknowledged these concerns in public. 'Rostec targeted' The Times report says that even Rostec, which is Russia's state-owned powerful defence conglomerate, was targeted by one of China's state-backed group to seek information on satellite communications, radar and electronic warfare. Citing Palo Alto Networks, the paper notes that some groups use malicious files, intended to exploit vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word, to penetrate Russian aviation industry targets. In 2023, Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity company, reported that multiple Russian entities, including those in the aerospace, private security, and defence sectors, were targeted by cyberattacks. The attacks utilised Deed RAT, a tool commonly associated with Chinese state-sponsored hackers. According to cybersecurity experts, Deed RAT is a 'proprietary' malware, exclusive to these groups and not available for purchase on the dark web, unlike other malicious tools. Notably, the reports of China-backed cyberattacks on Russian companies had emerged before the Ukraine war too. For example, Beijing hackers carried out a cyberattack on Russian submarine designers in 2021. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
China unleashes hackers against its friend Russia, seeking war secrets
The hacking campaign shows that, despite this partnership and years of promises not to hack each other, China sees Russia as a vulnerable target. PHOTO: REUTERS Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, groups linked to the Chinese government have repeatedly hacked Russian companies and government agencies in an apparent search for military secrets, according to cyber analysts. The intrusions started accelerating in May 2022, just months after Moscow's full-scale invasion. And they have continued steadily, with Chinese groups worming into Russian systems even as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China publicly professed a momentous era of collaboration and friendship. The hacking campaign shows that, despite this partnership and years of promises not to hack each other, China sees Russia as a vulnerable target. In 2023, one group, known as Sanyo, impersonated the e-mail addresses of a major Russian engineering firm in the hunt for information on nuclear submarines, according to TeamT5, a Taiwan-based cybersecurity research firm that discovered the attack in 2024 and linked it to the Chinese government. China is far wealthier than Russia and has plenty of homegrown scientific and military expertise, but Chinese military experts often lament that Chinese troops lack battlefield experience. Experts say that China sees the war in Ukraine as a chance to collect information about modern warfare tactics, Western weaponry and what works against them. 'China likely seeks to gather intelligence on Russia's activities, including on its military operation in Ukraine, defense developments and other geopolitical maneuvers,' said Mr Che Chang, a researcher with TeamT5. It is unclear how successful these attempts have been, partly because Russian officials have never publicly acknowledged these intrusions. But a classified counterintelligence document from Russia's domestic security agency, known as the FSB, makes clear that intelligence officials are concerned. The document, obtained by The New York Times, says that China is seeking Russian defence expertise and technology and is trying to learn from Russia's military experience in Ukraine. The document refers to China as an 'enemy'. With Mr Putin largely cut off from the West, his country has come to rely on China to buy its oil and sell it technology that is essential to its war effort. Moscow and Beijing have formed a bloc against Washington and its allies, alarming Western leaders. The FSB document presents a more complicated relationship than the 'no-limits' partnership that Mr Xi and Mr Putin describe. Allies have been known to spy on one another, but the extent of China's hacking activities against Russia suggests both a higher level of mutual distrust and a reluctance by the Kremlin to share all that it is learning on the battlefield in Ukraine. Drone warfare and software are of particular interest to China, the document says. 'The war in Ukraine fundamentally shifted intelligence priorities for both countries,' said Mr Itay Cohen, a senior researcher with cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks who has followed Chinese hacking groups for years. Experts say, and the document indicates, that China wants to learn from Russia's war experience to bolster its own preparedness for potential future conflicts. Taiwan, in particular, is a major potential flashpoint with the West. One Chinese government-funded group has targeted Rostec, the powerful Russian state-owned defense conglomerate, seeking information on satellite communications, radar and electronic warfare, according to Palo Alto Networks. Others have used malicious files, intended to exploit vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word, to penetrate Russian aviation industry targets and state bodies. Messages seeking comment were left with the Kremlin and the Chinese Embassy in Moscow. Not all Chinese hacking groups operate at the behest of the government. But security experts have seen evidence of government ties. Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies, for example, said in 2023 that cyberattacks had been mounted on several Russian targets, including in the aerospace, private security and defense sectors. The attackers used a tool known as Deed RAT, which is widely deployed by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. Cybersecurity experts say Deed RAT is considered 'proprietary' among these groups and is not available for purchase on the dark web like other malware tools. That has enabled state-backed hacking groups in China to use it more widely because it is tough for their adversaries to find a way to combat the malware. Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups have often targeted international companies and government institutions, including in the United States and Europe. But hacking groups appear to have become more interested in Russian targets after the country's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Mr Chang said he and his colleagues tracked several Chinese hacking groups targeting Russia. Among them was one of the country's most active hacking groups, known as Mustang Panda. Little is known about Mustang Panda's origins or where it operates inside China, according to researchers who have studied the group. Its activities often accompanied China's Belt and Road economic development initiative, according to Mr Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at security firm Sophos. As China invested in development projects in West Africa and Southeast Asia, he said, hacking soon followed. That is most likely because China invests in countries where it has political and economic interests, which motivates state-sponsored hackers, Mr Pilling said. After Russia invaded Ukraine, TeamT5 said that Mustang Panda expanded its scope to target governmental organizations in Russia and the European Union. Mr Pilling, who has been monitoring Mustang Panda's activities for several years, says he suspects that the group is backed by China's Ministry of State Security, its main intelligence body. The ministry supports threat groups that attack targets around the world, he said. In 2022, Mustang Panda targeted Russian military officials and border guard units near the Siberian border with China. 'The targeting we've observed tends to be political and military intelligence-gathering,' Mr Pilling said. That is true of all Chinese hacking groups targeting Russia, he said. 'I think of them as being one of the main tools that the Chinese state has for gathering political and economic intelligence.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
China unleashes hackers against its friend Russia, seeking war secrets
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, groups linked to the Chinese government have repeatedly hacked Russian companies and government agencies in an apparent search for military secrets, according to cyber analysts. The intrusions started accelerating in May 2022, just months after Moscow's full-scale invasion. And they have continued steadily, with Chinese groups worming into Russian systems even as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China publicly professed a momentous era of collaboration and friendship. The hacking campaign shows that, despite this partnership and years of promises not to hack each other, China sees Russia as a vulnerable target. In 2023, one group, known as Sanyo, impersonated the email addresses of a major Russian engineering firm in the hunt for information on nuclear submarines, according to TeamT5, a Taiwan-based cybersecurity research firm that discovered the attack last year and linked it to the Chinese government. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like ¿La recuerdas? Es triste ver cómo vive hoy en día Boite A Scoop Undo China is far wealthier than Russia and has plenty of homegrown scientific and military expertise, but Chinese military experts often lament that Chinese troops lack battlefield experience. Experts say that China sees the war in Ukraine as a chance to collect information about modern warfare tactics, Western weaponry and what works against them. "China likely seeks to gather intelligence on Russia's activities, including on its military operation in Ukraine, defense developments and other geopolitical manoeuvres," said Che Chang, a researcher with TeamT5. Live Events It is unclear how successful these attempts have been, partly because Russian officials have never publicly acknowledged these intrusions. But a classified counterintelligence document from Russia's domestic security agency, known as the FSB, makes clear that intelligence officials are concerned. The document, obtained by The New York Times, says that China is seeking Russian defence expertise and technology and is trying to learn from Russia's military experience in Ukraine. The document refers to China as an "enemy." Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories With Putin largely cut off from the West, his country has come to rely on China to buy its oil and sell it technology that is essential to its war effort. Moscow and Beijing have formed a bloc against Washington and its allies, alarming Western leaders. The FSB document presents a more complicated relationship than the "no-limits" partnership that Xi and Putin describe. Allies have been known to spy on one another, but the extent of China's hacking activities against Russia suggests both a higher level of mutual distrust and a reluctance by the Kremlin to share all that it is learning on the battlefield in Ukraine. Drone warfare and software are of particular interest to China, the document says. "The war in Ukraine fundamentally shifted intelligence priorities for both countries," said Itay Cohen, a senior researcher with cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks who has followed Chinese hacking groups for years. Experts say, and the document indicates, that China wants to learn from Russia's war experience to bolster its own preparedness for potential future conflicts. Taiwan, in particular, is a major potential flashpoint with the West. One Chinese government-funded group has targeted Rostec, the powerful Russian state-owned defense conglomerate, seeking information on satellite communications, radar and electronic warfare, according to Palo Alto Networks. Others have used malicious files, intended to exploit vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word, to penetrate Russian aviation industry targets and state bodies. Messages seeking comment were left with the Kremlin and the Chinese Embassy in Moscow. Not all Chinese hacking groups operate at the behest of the government. But security experts have seen evidence of government ties. Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies , for example, said in 2023 that cyberattacks had been mounted on several Russian targets, including in the aerospace, private security and defense sectors. The attackers used a tool known as Deed RAT, which is widely deployed by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. Cybersecurity experts say Deed RAT is considered "proprietary" among these groups and is not available for purchase on the dark web like other malware tools. That has enabled state-backed hacking groups in China to use it more widely because it is tough for their adversaries to find a way to combat the malware. Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups have often targeted international companies and government institutions, including in the United States and Europe. But hacking groups appear to have become more interested in Russian targets after the country's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Chang said he and his colleagues tracked several Chinese hacking groups targeting Russia. Among them was one of the country's most active hacking groups, known as Mustang Panda. Little is known about Mustang Panda's origins or where it operates inside China, according to researchers who have studied the group. Its activities often accompanied China's Belt and Road economic development initiative, according to Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at security firm Sophos. As China invested in development projects in West Africa and Southeast Asia, he said, hacking soon followed. That is most likely because China invests in countries where it has political and economic interests, which motivates state-sponsored hackers, Pilling said. After Russia invaded Ukraine, TeamT5 said that Mustang Panda expanded its scope to target governmental organizations in Russia and the European Union. Pilling, who has been monitoring Mustang Panda's activities for several years, says he suspects that the group is backed by China's Ministry of State Security, its main intelligence body. The ministry supports threat groups that attack targets around the world, he said. In 2022, Mustang Panda targeted Russian military officials and border guard units near the Siberian border with China. "The targeting we've observed tends to be political and military intelligence-gathering," Pilling said. That is true of all Chinese hacking groups targeting Russia, he said. "I think of them as being one of the main tools that the Chinese state has for gathering political and economic intelligence." Mustang Panda has also attracted the attention of U.S. authorities. In January, the Justice Department and the FBI said that Mustang Panda's malware had infected thousands of computer systems, seeking to steal information. Many of the targets were American, but the malware was also found on computers belonging to Chinese dissidents and European and Asian governments, according to a federal indictment. The indictment makes clear that the United States believes that Mustang Panda is a state-sponsored group. Other Chinese groups have targeted Russia, too. Chang said his team was following another threat group, Slime19, that is continuously targeting the Russian government, energy and defence sectors. In agreements in 2009 and 2015, China and Russia promised not to carry out cyberattacks targeting each other. But even at the time, analysts suggested that the announcement was largely symbolic. Chinese hacking in Russia did not begin with the war in Ukraine. A 2021 cyberattack, for example, targeted Russian submarine designers. But experts say the war prompted a spike in computer intrusions. "The activity -- we saw it immediately in the months following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine," Cohen said. "Even though the public narrative was of close ties between Russia and China."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
STARLUX Airlines Orders 10 More A350-1000s to Boost Long-Haul Fleet
Unveils "Carbon Fiber" Livery on First A350-1000 LOS ANGELES & TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--STARLUX Airlines, Taiwan-based luxury carrier, today signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for 10 additional A350-1000 widebody aircraft at the Paris Air Show. The agreement was signed by STARLUX Airlines CEO Glenn Chai and Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP of Sales, Commercial Aircraft. These newly ordered A350-1000s, scheduled for delivery beginning in 2031, will enhance STARLUX's medium- and long-haul operations as the airline continues to expand its fleet and global network. Alongside the new order, STARLUX also unveiled a striking new livery for the A350-1000, with the first aircraft expected to enter service by year's end. STARLUX Airlines CEO Glenn Chai stated, "This additional purchase of the A350-1000 is a significant step forward in expanding our route network and strengthening our global presence. With its outstanding range, fuel efficiency, and passenger comfort, the A350-1000 aligns perfectly with STARLUX's strategy for long-haul operations and delivering a premium travel experience. As we continue to grow our global network, the A350-1000 will play a key role in supporting our growth, sustainability goals, and operational flexibility." Benoît de Saint-Exupéry stated, "STARLUX Airlines' decision to expand its fleet with more A350-1000s reaffirms the aircraft's status as the benchmark for long-haul operations. With its advanced design and fuel-efficient performance, the A350-1000 Long Range Leader enables airlines to optimize routes while reducing environmental impact. We are proud to strengthen our longstanding partnership with STARLUX as they expand their global footprint and connect more destinations with efficiency and comfort." STARLUX's newly unveiled A350-1000 livery embodies the airline's dedication to innovation and design. Over 70% of the A350-1000's airframe is constructed from advanced materials—including 53% composites, titanium, and modern aluminum alloys—enhancing both durability and efficiency. The livery pays tribute to these innovations with a "carbon fiber" inspired design. The tail, finished in obsidian gray adorned with earth gold accents, symbolizes the mixture of innovation and stability, while the bold "1000" marking underscores the grandeur of the aircraft, which will soar through the skies with STARLUX's signature warm and "home in the air" service. The Airbus A350 family stands as the world's most modern and efficient widebody aircraft, capable of flying up to approximately 9,700 nautical miles (about 18,000 kilometers). Powered by the latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines—among the most fuel-efficient on the market—the A350 delivers a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency and significantly reduces noise, making it one of the quietest widebody aircraft in service. Its airframe and cabin feature advanced aerodynamic design and composite materials, resulting in lower operating costs, enhanced performance and superior passenger comfort compared to previous-generation aircraft. STARLUX currently operates a fleet of 28 aircraft, including 13 A321neos, 5 A330neos, and 10 A350-900s. Wth this latest order of 10 additional A350-1000 aircraft, STARLUX is set to expand its long-haul capabilities, bringing its total A350-1000 fleet to 18 in the future—further strengthening its global network and premium service. STARLUX Tickets Open for Booking Airline ticket reservations can now be booked through travel agents and on About STARLUX Airlines Founded on the philosophy that luxury should be available to everyone, not just the elite, Taiwan-based STARLUX is a boutique international airline serving a total of 29 routes from Taiwan to the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. STARLUX passengers traveling between North America and Asia are able to enjoy an easy transfer in Taipei with its three US routes: Los Angeles-Taipei, San Francisco-Taipei, and Seattle-Taipei, and an upcoming Ontario-Taipei route (beginning June 2). STARLUX prioritizes safety and offers unparalleled service with the goal of making flying a truly luxurious and unforgettable experience. For more information, visit or on our US social channels Facebook and Instagram. View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Mary Placido, SKC, Inc.(415) 218-3627mary@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
