Hacked by suspected Chinese cyberspies five times from 2014 to 2017, security staffers at the Swedish telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson took to naming their response efforts after different types of wine.
"Pinot Noir" began in September 2016. After repelling attacks a year earlier, Ericsson discovered the intruders were back. This time, the company's cybersecurity team could see exactly how they got in: through a connection to information-technology services supplier Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Teams of hackers connected to the Chinese Ministry of State Security had penetrated HPE's cloud computing service and used it as a launch pad to attack customers, plundering reams of corporate and government secrets for years in what U.S. prosecutors say was an effort to boost Chinese economic interests.