The United States charged 12 Chinese nationals with taking part in a global cyberespionage campaign, which included targets in the U.S.
According to the Justice Department, those charged included contract hackers and two officers with the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Public Security. Most of those charged are hackers who are ostensibly private, but act according to incentives from the Chinese government. The Chinese government buys stolen data from hackers, effectively contracting them.
“The Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue those who threaten our cybersecurity by stealing from our government and our people,” Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement. “Today, we are exposing the Chinese government agents directing and fostering indiscriminate and reckless attacks against computers and networks worldwide, as well as the enabling companies and individual hackers that they have unleashed. We will continue to fight to dismantle this ecosystem of cyber mercenaries and protect our national security.”
According to court documents, the MPS and Ministry of State Security employ a network of private companies to hack foreign targets in a way that obscures any government involvement. The hackers sometimes target specific groups or individuals, while other times casting a wide net.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York said in a statement that the defendants “used sophisticated hacking techniques to target religious organizations, journalists, and government agencies, all to gather sensitive information for the use of the PRC. These charges will help stop these state-sponsored hackers and protect our national security.”
Among those targeted by the defendants in the U.S. are a religious organization that sent missionaries to China and was openly critical of the Chinese government, an organization focused on promoting human rights and religious freedom in China, multiple news organizations that have voiced opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, and news organizations that supplied uncensored news to Asian audiences.
Outside of the U.S., other targets of the defendants include a religious leader, a Hong Kong newspaper viewed as being opposed to the CCP, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, India, South Korea, and Indonesia.
The DOJ alleged the hackers charged the Chinese government between $10,000 and $75,000 for each email inbox hacked.
China has denied the charges.
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A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C, told the Associated Press the allegations are a “smear.”
“We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude and base their characterization of cyber incidents on sufficient evidence rather than groundless speculation and accusations,” they said.
