Hacker nations

Extracted Attributes

• Primary Tactics

  Phishing, Ransomware, DNS Hijacking, Supply Chain Attacks, Cryptocurrency Theft

• Key Technologies

  Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Autonomous Malware

• Top-tier Hacker Nations

  Russia, China, North Korea

• Emerging Cyber Superpowers

  United States, Iran, Israel, United Kingdom, France

• Growth in Phishing Activity

  1,265% increase linked to generative AI

• Tracked Nation-State Groups

  Over 600 distinct groups as of 2025

Timeline

• Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is founded in Europe, becoming one of the largest hacker associations. (Source: Web Search: List of hacker groups - Wikipedia)

  1981-01-01

• Cyber conflicts begin between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute. (Source: Web Search: Cyberattacks by country - Wikipedia)

  1990-01-01

• The hacktivist group Anonymous is created to fight for privacy rights. (Source: Web Search: List of hacker groups - Wikipedia)

  2003-01-01

• The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is hacked, with reports attributing the attack to Chinese hackers. (Source: Web Search: Cyberattacks by country - Wikipedia)

  2015-01-01

• The SolarWinds hack, likely Russian in origin, compromises numerous U.S. government departments and Fortune 500 companies. (Source: Web Search: The 10 Most Significant Nation-Backed Cyberattacks Of 2020)

  2020-12-01

• Microsoft releases emergency updates for vulnerabilities exploited by the Chinese group Hafnium. (Source: Web Search: Cyberattacks by country - Wikipedia)

  2021-03-02

• Anonymous Sudan is founded; the British Library suffers a major ransomware attack by the Rhysida group. (Source: Web Search: List of hacker groups - Wikipedia)

  2023-01-01

• U.S. intelligence warns of persistent Chinese cyber-espionage targeting critical infrastructure like electric grids and water plants. (Source: Web Search: Cyberattacks by country - Wikipedia)

  2024-01-01

Hacker

A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hacker – someone with knowledge of bugs or exploits to break into computer systems and access data which would otherwise be inaccessible to them. In a positive connotation, though, hacking can also be utilized by legitimate figures in legal situations. For example, law enforcement agencies sometimes use hacking techniques to collect evidence on criminals and other malicious actors. This could include using anonymity tools (such as a VPN or the dark web) to mask their identities online and pose as criminals. Hacking can also have a broader sense of any roundabout solution to a problem, or programming and hardware development in general, and hacker culture has spread the term's broader usage to the general public even outside the profession or hobby of electronics (see life hack).

Web Search Results

• State Sponsored Hacking & APT Attacks Explained (2025)

  Israel, a very advanced offense for its size, UK, and France. It’s worth noting the strongest cyber army depends on criteria: for pure offense, the US, Russia, China are top, but when you include defense and other factors, rankings can vary. Importantly, these leading nations each excel in different areas e.g., North Korea is extremely adept in cryptocurrency theft, a niche strength, even though it’s smaller overall. The cyber capability landscape is continually evolving; what’s clear is that several nations possess extremely advanced cyber arsenals. [...] Explosive Growth in Threat Activity: Nation state hacking campaigns are increasing amid global tensions. For instance, phishing, a common entry tactic for both criminals and spies, has skyrocketed 1,265% in recent times. Security reports link this surge partly to attackers leveraging generative AI like deepfake emails or ChatGPT assisted lures. In practice, this means state backed hackers can craft far more convincing phishing emails at scale, making it easier to trick victims and gain initial access. [...] Geopolitical Cyber Arms Race: Governments are ramping up offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. According to U.S. intelligence, China remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to the U.S. government and critical sectors, with Russia, Iran, and North Korea also responsible for a wide range of malicious cyber activities. These nations have dozens of hacking units under military or intelligence agencies. Western governments are responding in kind. A Harvard Belfer Center index ranks the United States as the top cyber superpower, followed by China and Russia. This cyber arms race means more resources poured into cyber operations on all sides. By 2025, Microsoft reports tracking over 600 distinct nation state hacker groups worldwide, a staggering number that shows how crowded

• The 10 Most Significant Nation-Backed Cyberattacks Of 2020

  Western cybersecurity officials accused the Turkish government of launching cyberattacks targeting at least 30 entities in Europe and the Middle East. According to two UK officials and one US official, the ongoing cyber operation targeted government agencies, embassies, security services, and other organizations. The alleged Turkish-backed cyberattack utilized DNS hijacking techniques that intercepted online traffic to victim websites, potentially accessing sensitive data. This hacking campaign reveals how nations will continue to launch cyberattacks unchecked until cyber norms and rules are established. ### 7. China-Backed Hackers Target the Vatican [...] ### 2. The SolarWinds Hack Last year, nation-backed hackers targeted the IT firm SolarWinds, infecting their computer system with malicious code that later spread to the firm’s +15,000 clients. The hacker group gained access to computer systems of numerous Fortune 500 companies and US government departments, including Intel, Cisco Systems, the US Treasury, the Pentagon, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Several US intelligence agencies later released a statement saying the cyberattack was “likely Russian in origin.” Even though the full extent of the cyberattack is still unknown, the SolarWinds hack is already considered one of the biggest cyberattacks to hit the US government. ### 1. The World’s First Cyberattack Fatality May Have Occurred [...] ### 7. China-Backed Hackers Target the Vatican American cybersecurity firm Recorded Future detected an alleged Chinese state-sponsored cyberattack against the Vatican. Attributed to the China-backed hacker group RedDelta, the cyberattack broke into the Vatican’s computer network and monitored communications between the Hong Kong diocese and the Vatican. It is believed that the attack aimed to give the Chinese government an advantage in diplomatic negotiations regarding the appointment of bishops and the status of churches in China. This event proves that when it comes to nation-backed cyberattacks, there is no separation between church and state. ### 6. The WHO Becomes a Major Cyberattack Target

• List of hacker groups - Wikipedia

  Anonymous "Anonymous (hacker group)"), originating in 2003, Anonymous was created as a group for people who fought for the right to privacy. Anonymous Sudan, founded in 2023, a hacktivist group that claims to act against anti-Muslim activities, but allegedly is Russian backed and neither linked to Sudan nor Anonymous "Anonymous (hacker group)"). Bangladesh Black Hat Hackers, founded in 2012. Chaos Computer Club (CCC), founded in 1981, it is Europe's largest association of hackers with 7,700 registered members. Conti "Conti (ransomware)"), one of the most prolific ransomware groups of 2021, according to the FBI. Cozy Bear, a Russian hacker group believed to be associated with one or more intelligence agencies of Russia. [...] Piratas Unidos Argentinos, the first hacking group from Argentina and one of the firsts from Latin America. Play "Play (hacker group)"), a ransomware extortion group, experts believe them to be from Russia. Powerful Greek Army, is a Greek group of black-hat computer hackers founded in 2016. RedHack is a socialist hacker group based in Turkey, founded in 1997. They usually launch attacks against the Turkish government's websites and leak secret documents of the Turkish government. Rhysida "Rhysida (hacker group)") group behind the 2023 British Library cyberattack and the Insomniac games dump using ransomware-as-a-service. [...] Hacktivist Nepal is a Nepali pro-monarchy hacktivist group that has endorsed the restoration of hindu state in Nepal. Hackweiser is an underground hacking group and hacking magazine founded in 1999. Hafnium "Hafnium (group)") Possibly with Chinese associations, responsible for the 2021 Microsoft Exchange Server data breach. Hive "Hive (ransomware)") was a notorious ransomware as a service (RaaS) criminal organization that targeted mainly public institutions. Honker Union is a group known for hacktivism, mainly present in Mainland China, whose members launched a series of attacks on websites in the United States, mostly government-related sites.

• Top 5 Nation State Cyber-Attack Trends - Infosecurity Europe

  In the lead up to the 2024 US Presidential election, government agencies warned that nation states were using technologies like GenAI and deepfakes to push their narratives online. ADVERTISEMENT ## Conclusion Nation-state attacks have become a major concern for organisations, particularly in the government and critical infrastructure sectors. Nation-state actors have expanded their operations and tactics in recent years, making them more dangerous. This includes cooperation with financially motivated cybercriminals, growing interest in conducting destructive attacks and the use of sophisticated AI tools. The threat from state hackers has moved on from being solely about data theft to the potential for critical services to be disrupted. [...] ## Supply Chain Attacks to Target Multiple Entities Recent years have seen numerous instances of nation-state actors targeting software and other third-party providers to compromise multiple victims. These attacks have primarily been used for espionage purposes. The first high-profile incident of this nature was the SolarWinds hack in 2020, in which Russian actors added malicious code to a SolarWinds Orion update to compromise the firm’s customer base. Among the organisations targeted in the incident were US government departments and cybersecurity vendors. Since then, software supply chain attacks have been a common tactic employed by nation-state groups, particularly China. [...] Additionally, North Korean state actors have frequently used cybercrime techniques such as ransomware and crypto hacks to generate funds for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) regime. ## Shift to Destructive Attacks Nation-state cyber actors have traditionally focused on intelligence gathering operations, however, there has been a move towards destructive attacks. These attacks are designed to disrupt critical services. This trend has coincided with rising geopolitical conflict and tensions, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s regional dispute with Taiwan. Russia has leveraged cyber-attacks to try and disrupt critical infrastructure in Ukraine alongside traditional warfare. This includes attempts to take down energy and water services in the country.

• Cyberattacks by country - Wikipedia

  On March 2, 2021, Microsoft released an emergency security update to patch four security vulnerabilities that had been used by Hafnium, a Chinese nation-state-sponsored hacking group that had compromised at least 30,000 public and private Microsoft exchange servers. In September 2022, China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) accused the NSA of carrying out a series of cyberattacks against Northwestern Polytechnical University as part of tens of thousands of “malicious network attacks” that it said the agency conducted against Chinese targets. The United States has said the university has conducted extensive military research and its department of Commerce has put the university on its entity list. [...] In 2015. the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Interior Department were hacked, resulting in data breaches of government and security records. Numerous reports claim that Chinese hackers conducted these attacks, as the Chinese government has used hackers to attack and target U.S. military networks the year prior. In 2024, cyber-tensions remain between the United States and the People's Republic of China, as accusations of hacking the U.S. government continue to arise. Reuters claims that cyber-espionage operations have been attacking the U.S. infrastructure, including the electric grid, water plants, oil and gas pipelines, and transportation, placing an increased focus on civilian attacks. Government officials have expressed concern about these attacks, relating them to [...] There were two such instances between India and Pakistan that involved cyberspace conflicts, starting in the 1990s. Earlier cyber attacks came to be known as early as 1999. Since then, India and Pakistan were engaged in a long-term dispute over Kashmir which moved into cyberspace. Historical accounts indicated that each country's hackers have been repeatedly involved in attacking each other's computing database system. The number of attacks has grown yearly: 45 in 1999, 133 in 2000, 275 by the end of August 2001. In 2010, Indian hackers laid a cyber attack at least 36 government database websites going by the name "Indian Cyber Army". In 2013, Indian hackers hacked the official website of Election Commission of Pakistan in an attempt to retrieve sensitive database information. In