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U.S. prosecutors have charged 12 Chinese nationals in an alleged state-sponsored hacking scheme that sold data on U.S.-based dissidents to the Chinese government. According to the Justice Department (DOJ), the hackers also targeted government agencies, including the Treasury.
The operation allegedly extended to an American religious group and a Hong Kong newspaper. While China has not responded to these specific claims, it has previously denied similar accusations.
In December, the Treasury Department reported a "major" breach by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, who gained access to employee workstations and some unclassified documents.
China denied any involvement, calling the claims "baseless" and stating that it opposes all forms of hacking. The timing of the latest DOJ charges remains unclear, but they were unsealed in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.
Who is being charged?
Among those charged were two officers from China’s Ministry of Public Security. According to the DOJ, hackers posing as employees of the private company i-Soon charged Chinese agencies between $10,000 and $75,000 per compromised email inbox. They allegedly carried out cyber intrusions both under the direction of Chinese ministries and independently, profiting significantly from the stolen data.
"Today, we are exposing Chinese government agents responsible for reckless cyberattacks on global networks," said Sue J Bai, head of the DOJ's National Security Division. She added that efforts will continue to dismantle this network of cyber mercenaries and safeguard national security.
