While the West sees Russia as a cyberpredator, hackers in the East increasingly view it as prey, according to online security company Kaspersky Lab, which says there's been a sharp spike in attacks from China.
Cases of Chinese hacking of Russian industries including defense, nuclear, and aviation rose almost threefold to 194 in the first seven months of this year from 72 in the whole of 2015, according to Alexander Gostev, the Moscow-based company's chief security expert. Proofpoint, a California-based cybersecurity company, also reported an increase in Chinese attacks on Russia.
The hacking is going on "despite the officially promoted friendship between Russia and China and accords on cyber security, cooperation and non-aggression" between the two governments, Gostev said in an interview. "I don't see them working."