US Exposes Chinese Cyber-Espionage Campaign Targeting Federal Agencies

United States officials exposed a major Chinese cyber-espionage campaign on Wednesday that compromised numerous federal agencies, including NASA, the Federal Reserve, the US Senate, and the departments of Justice and Energy. The operation also targeted US military networks, hospitals, power companies, and defense contractors.

Todd Blanche, the Attorney General, stated that the US has discussed these activities with Chinese counterparts for years and asserted that the activity "has to stop." US officials allege that hackers affiliated with the Chinese military and the Ministry of State Security utilized the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company to mask their activity within routine consumer internet traffic.

In response, the United States Department of Justice seized three internet domains linked to the Chinese company to prevent further damage. The Federal Bureau of Investigations spent months unraveling the deception operation, while Lumen Technologies provided visibility into the internet backbone to identify how hackers profiled target infrastructure. Federal agencies intend to release an advisory on the hackers' techniques to assist victimized companies. The Chinese government routinely denies such allegations and frequently accuses US agencies of similar cyberattacks.