China data leak spotlights cyber-spying across Southeast Asia

PHNOM PENH -- Hackers at a Chinese state-linked security contractor targeted government agencies across Southeast Asia for years, a major document leak shows, revealing rare details of cyberespionage in countries where Beijing has strong political and economic ties.

The hacks -- which appear to have penetrated state systems in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia, as well as private companies -- add to a long pattern of Chinese actors attacking smaller, more vulnerable neighbors to keep tabs on hot-button issues and glean information about Western tech companies operating in the region, experts said.