At the beginning of the week, many Western countries accused China of spying on the APT31 group.
Central Criminal Police said on Tuesday that it has made progress in the investigation of the data breach targeting the parliament, where it suspects aggravated espionage, aggravated data breach and aggravated breach of communications secrecy.
The Parliament reported in late December 2020 that it was the target of a cyber attack in the same fall, which was detected by the Parliament's internal technical monitoring.
That started a long investigation by the Central Criminal Police, which is still ongoing. The police have already said that they are investigating the connections of the so-called APT31 operator to the suspected act.
Now this connection has been confirmed and the police have been able to identify one person suspected of the crime.
“In the preliminary investigation, the police have identified one suspect who has not been interviewed so far. The person is suspected of being connected to APT31,” says the head of the investigation, the crime commissioner Aku Limnéll from the Central Criminal Police.
By chance since the beginning of the week, APT31 has been featured in the world's media in other ways, when, for example, Britain and New Zealand have accused groups connected to the Chinese regime of cyber attacks. One such group is APT31.
Similarly, the US Department of Justice announced on Monday the charges against seven Chinese individuals for cyber attacks against US targets. According to the ministry, they operate as part of the APT31 group supported by the Chinese government.
According to Limnéll, the preliminary investigation has been demanding and time-consuming, because it has been an exceptionally challenging investigation and there has been a complex criminal infrastructure behind it.
The Central Criminal Police does not mention anything about China or any state actor in this case.
“The police can only tell you about the matter based on the results of the preliminary investigation. So far, the police have found facts in the preliminary investigation, on the basis of which the suspected activity is connected to APT31. Based on the preliminary investigation, no further conclusions can be made,” he says.
“The police do not comment on the public incomes of other countries,” he continues.
Under investigation according to the police, information related to the case has been collected in a versatile and wide way, the information has been analyzed and international cooperation has been close.
“Cybercrime investigations are often demanding and time-consuming, as in this case as well. There is still a preliminary investigation to be done, but with the identification of the suspect, we have moved to a new phase in the investigation.”
International exchange of information and cooperation has also been extensive, including with the Finnish Protection Police.
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