Cisco routers abused by China-linked hackers against US, Japan companies

US and Japanese agencies have warned of cyber threat group BlackTech, linked to the People’s Republic of China, abusing firmware in Cisco and other routers to hack into companies in both countries. The group infiltrates through international subsidiaries to gain trusted access to systems in unsuspecting firms. Experts have flagged the group’s complex methods including abuse of trusted connections; abuse of routers is new for BlackTech.