Chinese hackers steal "confidential information" of five global oil companies: McAfee

Washington, Feb 11 (ANI): A US cyber security firm has alleged that Chinese hackers have targeted at least five global oil companies, but kept the names of the companies secret.

The cyber attacks, dubbed "Night Dragon" by McAfee, has claimed that the China based hackers have obtained "proprietary and highly confidential information" of those companies, Fox News reports.

The 19-page report has also claimed that the targets included not only companies, but also "individuals and executives in Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Greece and the United States."

Although the actual attacks began in November of 2009, McAfee said that the attempted hacking could have been in process since the past four years. It also said that only one person has been identified, though a number of hackers are likely to be involved, the report said.

The identified hacker reportedly runs a company in China's eastern Shandong Province that provides web services hosted in the US and advertises that "no records are kept," it added.

McAfee further claimed that "miscreants continue to infiltrate" computer networks daily, and added that it released its findings to protect "those not yet impacted." (ANI)