Beijing, Sept. 3 -- A China-linked cyberespionage group compromised Cisco routers, hid its activity from network administrators and used the devices to monitor network traffic and search for access to other important networks, according to cybersecurity firm Sygnia. The findings were reported by The Epoch Times, citing Sygnia's investigation into the group, which it calls Fire Ant.

Sygnia said Fire Ant targeted Cisco routers running IOS XR and installed malware designed to operate on these devices. The company has not linked the group to any specific Chinese government agency and has not revealed the affected organisations or countries.

According to the report, the investigation began after researchers discovered a hidden network tunnel...