The US government has charged 10 Chinese hackers and two country security officials in a scheme to steal data from Chinese government groups and opposition, the Department of Justice (DOJ). Announced on Wednesday.
“Today, we are exposing and fostering Chinese government agents who direct and promote indiscriminate and reckless attacks on computers and networks around the world, as well as the companies and individual hackers they may have unleashed,” DOJ National Security Director Sue J. Bai said in a statement. “We will continue to fight to dismantle this ecosystem of cybermercers and protect national security.”
According to the DOJ, the hackers worked independently, with the state-affiliated contractor I-SOON working to collect bounties from the People's Republic of China (PRC). China's Ministry of Public Safety (MPS) and the State Department (MSS) say they targeted certain victims for exploitation. Court documents.
“MPS and MSS paid spectacularly for the stolen data,” said DOJ, which announced the fees. “Victims include US-based critics and PRC dissidents, large US religious groups, multiple government foreign ministries in Asia, and US federal and state government agencies, including the US Treasury Department in late 2024.”
The US Treasury Department revealed the violation last year.
“Operated from safe shelters and motivated by profits, this network of private companies and contractors in China will identify vulnerable computers, exploit those computers, and cast a wide range of nets to identify information that can be sold directly or indirectly to the PRC government,” the DOJ said.
Brian Vaughndran, assistant director of the FBI Cyber Division, thanked the victims who bravely advanced evidence of invasion.
“And for those who choose to support CCPs with their illegal cyber activities, these fees must demonstrate that they use all the tools available to identify you, prosecute you, and expose your malicious activity for the whole world to see,” Vorndran said in a statement.
Associated Press It was reported last year About its relationship with hackers that promoted the Chinese government's exploration of overseas information.
