US, UK Charge China in Cyber Espionage

U.S. and British officials on Monday filed charges, imposed sanctions, and accused Beijing of a sweeping cyberespionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people, including lawmakers, academics, journalists, and companies, including defence contractors.

Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic nicknamed the hacking group Advanced Persistent Threat 31, or “APT31,”  calling it an arm of China’s Ministry of State Security. Officials reeled off a laundry list of targets: White House staffers, U.S. senators, British parliamentarians, and government officials across the world who criticised Beijing.

Few other victims were identified by name, but American officials said that the hackers’ decade-plus spying spree compromised defence contractors, dissidents, and a variety of U.S. companies, including American steel, energy, and apparel firms. Among the targets were leading providers of 5G mobile telephone equipment and wireless technology. Even the spouses of senior U.S. officials and lawmakers were targeted, the officials said.

The global hacking operation aimed to “repress critics of the Chinese regime, compromise government institutions, and steal trade secrets,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

In an indictment unsealed on Monday against seven of the alleged Chinese hackers, U.S. prosecutors in court said the hacking resulted in the confirmed or potential compromise of work accounts, personal emails, online storage and telephone call records belonging to millions of Americans.

Chinese diplomats in Britain and the U.S. dismissed the allegations as unwarranted. The Chinese Embassy in London called the charges “completely fabricated and malicious slanders.”

The announcements were made as both Britain and the U.S. imposed sanctions on a firm they said was a Ministry of State Security front company tied to the hacking activity.

Reuters