The U.S. Accused Two Chinese Hackers For Targeting Intellectual Property And Confidential Business Information

Two Chinese agents were charged with hacking U.S. computer systems from 2006 to 2018, in relation to a campaign across Europe, Asia and the U.S..

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI have identified the hackers as Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, both are members of a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group.

The hackers have been said to have obtained unauthorized access to computers of at least 45 entities, including commercial and defense technology companies and U.S. government agencies.

The hackers have also got their hands on personally identifiable information such as: names, social security numbers and phone numbers pertaining to at least 100,000 U.S. Navy service members.

"The unsealing of an indictment charging Zhu Hua (朱华), aka Afwar, aka CVNX, aka Alayos, aka Godkiller; and Zhang Shilong (张士龙), aka Baobeilong, aka Zhang Jianguo, aka Atreexp, both nationals of the People’s Republic of China (China), with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft..."
Wanted by the FBI : Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong
A Wanted Poster by the FBI, showing Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong (source: FBI)

According to the unsealed documents:

"Over the course of the Technology Theft Campaign, the defendants and their coconspirators successfully obtained unauthorized access to at least approximately 90 computers belonging to, among others, commercial and defense technology companies and US Government agencies located in at least 12 states, and stole hundreds of gigabytes of sensitive data and information from their computer systems …"

The FBI, DOJ, and media outlets are characterizing the campaign as an intellectual property-theft (IPT) issue, alleging the Chinese agents’ intent was to steal technology plans.

The prosecutors accuse Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong of acting on behalf of China’s ministry of state security to spy on some of the world’s largest companies by hacking into their outsourced systems which hold their email, storage and other computing tasks.

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According to the FBI’s wanted poster for the group, known as Advanced Persistent Threat 10 (APT 10), or Cloudhopper, the group’s effort was massive:

"As alleged in the Indictment, from at least 2006 through 2018, the defendants conducted extensive campaigns of global intrusions into computer systems aiming to steal, among other data, intellectual property and confidential business and technological information from more than at least 45 commercial and defense technology companies in at least a dozen states, managed service providers (“MSP”), which are companies that remotely manage the information technology infrastructure of businesses and governments around the world, and U.S. government agencies."

"China’s goal, simply put, is to replace the U.S. as the world’s leading superpower and they’re using illegal methods to get there," said FBI director Christopher Wray at a news conference.

In response for this accusation, China’s foreign ministry said it opposed the “slanderous” accusations from the U.S. and other allies. It urged Washington to withdraw the accusations, saying that Beijing had lodged “stern representations” with Washington.

"We urge the U.S. side to immediately correct its erroneous actions and cease its slanderous smears relating to internet security," it said, adding that it would take necessary measures to safeguard its own cybersecurity and interests.

This case may further escalate tensions between Washington and Beijing after several repeated accusations between U.S. and China, as well as following the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies, in Canada at the request of the U.S..