Washington, DC – The Biden administration made a significant announcement on Monday, revealing a criminal indictment and sanctions against several Chinese hackers. These hackers were accused of engaging in extensive cyber attacks against US companies and government officials on behalf of China’s civilian intelligence service.
Seven Chinese men were indicted in US federal court in the Eastern District of New York for their involvement in a long-standing hacking campaign. This campaign led to the compromise of data belonging to millions of Americans, with some data potentially being used to influence US democratic institutions.
The hackers targeted critical infrastructure sectors in the US, including a defense contractor that produced flight simulators for the military. The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against two of the men, while the State Department offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on the seven individuals.
The indictment revealed that the hackers sent over 10,000 malicious emails in just a few months in 2018 to senior US officials, White House staff, Justice Department employees, and senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties. They impersonated prominent US journalists in an attempt to lure targets into clicking on the emails.
In a separate development, the British government stated that the same group of Chinese hackers allegedly breached the UK Electoral Commission in 2021 and 2022. However, the activity did not have any impact on the UK electoral process, according to Britain’s foreign office.
The US-China cyber relations are currently under scrutiny, particularly after FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a warning about a different group of Chinese hackers planning to cause harm to American citizens and communities. Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured US President Joe Biden that China would not interfere in the 2024 US election, but US officials remain cautious about these assurances.
The US officials accused the indicted Chinese men of using a Chinese technology company as a front to cover their hacking activities on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security. The group of hackers is known as APT31 or Judgement Panda, and they have targeted a wide range of organizations, from US law firms to European industrial companies and international apparel manufacturers.
The allegations against the Chinese government’s cyber capabilities have been linked to contractors working for front companies in the past. A recent leak of documents from a Chinese tech firm highlighted the extent of China’s hacking operations, revealing victims in regions like Tibet and Hong Kong, with clients including China’s police, intelligence service, and military.