A number of criminal cases in the US indicate the existence of an ecosystem of mercenary hackers acting for purposes that may be beneficial to the Chinese government.
Reports UNN citing AP News.
The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that 12 Chinese nationals, including mercenary hackers, law enforcement officials, and employees of a private hacking firm, have been charged in connection with global cybercrime campaigns targeting dissidents, information organizations, US agencies, and universities.
A number of criminal cases in New York and Washington add new details to what US officials say is a thriving ecosystem of hired hacking in China.
One case involves the hacking company I-Soon, which allegedly sold stolen data to the Chinese government. Another indictment links Chinese hackers to the data breach of American tech companies and government agencies. Among the targets was the US Department of the Treasury, which suffered a serious cybersecurity breach last year.
Beijing denies involvement in hacker attack on US Treasury Department31.12.24, 13:06 • [views_22484]
The charges come at a time when the US government has warned of an increasingly sophisticated cyber threat from China, including last year's breach of telecommunications companies known as Salt Typhoon, which gave Beijing access to private text messages and phone calls of an unknown number of Americans.
Addition
The US State Department is offering a reward of $2 million for information leading to the arrest of two Chinese hackers.