The US said on Wednesday it had disrupted a Chinese hacking operation responsible for break-ins and attempts on the Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, and other sensitive government agencies.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it had seized domains used by two hacking platforms, dubbed QScan and QTRouter, which it said had been used as part of the campaign.
An affidavit identified the US Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and four unnamed companies in the US and South Korea as being among the hackers' victims.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in an email that while they were not familiar with the specifics mentioned in the DOJ statement, the “Chinese government firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law.”
The Justice Department said the platforms were run by a China-based firm, the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, whose clients it said included China's civilian intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, and its military, the People’s Liberation Army.
The affidavit said the hackers used tools they developed to compromise critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks in the US and worldwide since at least 2018.
Experts who follow Chinese cyber activity say private contractors routinely carry out high-profile intrusions on behalf of various Chinese government agencies.
“Over the last decade, the number of companies offering niche offensive services has exploded,” said Dakota Cary, a China analyst with cybersecurity company SentinelOne.
Separately, the US on Wednesday said it has “significant concerns” over the case of Chinese artist Gao Zhen, a critic of former leader Mao Zedong.
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group told AFP news agency on Wednesday that Gao was sentenced to three years in prison – the maximum sentence for that crime – at Sanhe City Court in China’s northern Hebei province.
Zhen, 70, who moved to the United States in 2022, was detained at his studio on the outskirts of Beijing during a visit to China in August 2024.
“We have significant concerns regarding the case, against Gao Zhen, which we note was in connection with alleged actions taken years prior to the enactment of the law under which he was convicted,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.
