US, UK accuse China over spy campaign that may have hit millions
5702 Mins Read
U.S. and British officials on Monday filed charges, imposed sanctions, and called out Beijing over a sweeping cyberespionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people – including lawmakers, academics, journalists and more.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic accused the hacking group nicknamed “APT31” of being an arm of China’s Ministry of State Security and reeled off a laundry list of targets: White House staffers, U.S. senators, British parliamentarians, and government officials across the world who criticized of Beijing. Defense contractors, dissidents, security companies were also hit, the officials said.
In an indictment unsealed on Monday against seven of the alleged Chinese hackers involved, 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.
The aim of the global hacking operation was to “repress critics of the Chinese regime, compromise government institutions, and steal trade secrets,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
Chinese diplomats in London and Washington dismissed the allegations as unwarranted and lacking “valid evidence.” The Chinese Embassy in London called the charges “completely fabricated and malicious slanders.”
Reuters was not immediately able to locate contact information for the seven alleged hackers being charged by the Department of Justice.
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.
