China Spied On AU, Accessed Confidential Information Through Computer Network It Donated

The People’s Republic of China is reported to have been spying on the African Union (AU) for five years. According to an investigation by French publication, Le Monde, the Chinese built and donated a compromised computer network to the AU in addition to the AU’s new Headquarters in Addis Ababa. Since the headquarters was opened in 2012 and up to January 2017, the Chinese downloaded and accessed the AU’s confidential files. Computer experts discovered the leak after noticing anomalies in data usage, particularly a spike at night when the building was supposed to be empty.

In an article, Le Monde wrote

According to several sources within the institution, all sensitive content could be spied on by China. It’s a spectacular leak of data, spread from January 2012 to January 2017.

After the problem was discovered, the AU acquired its own servers and started encrypting its traffic.

More: Mail and Guardian, Le Monde