WASHINGTON, Dec 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The United States has charged two
Chinese men it says hacked the computer systems of companies and government
agencies in a dozen countries, in what Washington says was a wide-reaching
state-backed campaign of cyber-espionage.
NASA and the US Navy were among those allegedly targeted in a programme
the US Justice Department said also hit a major bank, telecom companies and
healthcare providers in 12 countries.
The charges drew a furious response from Beijing, which accused Washington
of “fabricating facts”.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said China had repeatedly broken
President Xi Jinping’s 2015 pledge to halt cyberattacks on US companies and
commercial infrastructure.
“It is unacceptable that we continue to uncover cybercrime committed by
China against other nations,” he said.
“We want China to cease its illegal cyber activities and honor its
commitment to the international community.
“But the evidence suggests that China may not intend to live up to its
promises.”
US ally Britain also joined the charge, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
saying Beijing continued to hack computer systems for commercial and economic
motives.
“These activities must stop. They go against the commitments made to the
UK in 2015, and, as part of the G20, not to conduct or support cyber-enabled
theft of intellectual property or trade secrets,” he said.
American officials said evidence showed hackers had targeted Managed
Service Providers (MSPs) — specialist firms that help companies manage their
information technology systems — potentially giving them access to the
computer networks of dozens of companies.
Individual firms were not named in the indictment, but the 45 victims in
the United States included government agencies — NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Department of Energy’s Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, and the US Navy, from which the personal
information of more than 100,000 personnel was stolen.
Internationally, the hackers are alleged to have broken into the computers
of a major bank, three telecommunications or consumer electronics companies,
mining and healthcare firms, and business consultancies.
Beijing lashed out at the claims, the latest in a roiling dispute over
cybersecurity that pits China against the US and its western allies.
“The United States is fabricating facts, creating something from nothing,
and unwarrantedly denouncing China on cybersecurity issues,” foreign ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday.
Beijing said it had lodged an official protest over the charges and warned
the US to drop the prosecution, “to avoid serious damage to the relations
between the two countries”.
– APT10 hacking group –
The Justice Department said the two alleged hackers, Zhu Hua and Zhang
Shilong, worked for the APT10 group, which Washington, London and other
allies say is backed by China’s Ministry of State Security.
From at least 2006 to 2018, the APT10 Group “conducted extensive campaigns
of intrusions into computer systems around the world”, the Justice Department
said.
APT10 stole “hundreds of gigabytes” of sensitive data and information from
its targets, invading their systems through the hacked MSPs, it added.
The indictments of the two men came less than two months after the US
charged 10 Chinese also allegedly linked to APT10 — including two
intelligence officers — over a five-year scheme to steal aircraft engine
technology from US and French aerospace firms.
Those cases involved both hacking and recruiting insiders to steal data
and IT system passwords.
– Heightened tensions –
Relations between Washington and Beijing are already frayed over trade,
hacking and geopolitical issues.
In October, the Department of Justice obtained the unprecedented
extradition of a senior Chinese intelligence official from Belgium to stand
trial in the United States for running the effort to steal US aviation
industry secrets.
In early December, Canada arrested an executive of leading Chinese telecom
company Huawei at Washington’s request.
The US plans to charge her with fraud related to sanctions-breaking
business dealings with Iran.
Since then, China has detained Canadian citizens, in what observers say is
an apparent bid to pressure Ottawa into releasing the Huawei executive.
And, according to reports, US officials believe Chinese government-linked
hackers were behind the theft of data on some 500 million guests of hotel
giant Marriott, first reported on November 30.
Last week, Bill Priestap, head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division,
told Congress that China’s cyberattacks were part of a broad campaign against
the US.
“The Chinese government is attempting to acquire or steal not only the
plans and intentions of the United States government, but also the ideas and
innovations of the very people that make our economy so incredibly
successful,” he said.