US Accuses China of Espionage Campaign, DOJ Indicts Seven Chinese Hackers

Facts

• The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday unsealed an indictment against seven Chinese nationals allegedly involved in a hacking group that operated for 14 years targeting US and other foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in coordination with the Chinese government.¹
• The US is offering up to $10M for information on the seven operatives, who allegedly sent over 10K “malicious emails,” impacting thousands of victims on multiple continents. The UK government also accused China of “malicious cyber campaigns” against its Electoral Commission and politicians.²
• The US and UK have imposed sanctions on individuals and groups affiliated with Chinese hackers, and claim that members of the Advanced Persistent Threat 31 (APT31) group were involved in the latest charges. The APT system is used to identify foreign state-sponsored hacking groups.³
• UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said that APT31 was responsible for an attempted reconnaissance on the email accounts of UK lawmakers in 2021 along with attacks against the Electoral Commission in 2022. The Chinese Embassy rejected the allegations as “completely fabricated.”⁴
• New Zealand’s security minister on Tuesday said that another Chinese-sponsored group, APT40, was to blame for a 2021 operation against the country’s Parliament. However, New Zealand, unlike the US and UK, will not sanction China for the cyber gang’s actions.⁵
• Earlier this year, FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a public warning concerning a different group of Chinese hackers who were allegedly looking to “wreak havoc” on America “if or when China decides the time has come to strike.”⁶

Sources: ¹United States Department of Justice, ²BBC News, ³Guardian, ⁴CNBC, ⁵FOX News and ⁶CNN.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. The US and UK have determined that Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups have been operating malicious campaigns targeting millions of people and threatening national security. These groups continue to work at the behest of Beijing and are an integral part of China’s broader plan to spy on and attack its foreign critics. From targeting everyday citizens, to Electoral Commissions and politicians, China is facilitating dangerous cyber gangs that must be identified and stopped. The CCP seeks to compromise its adversaries’ security — this can’t be allowed to continue.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by XINHUA. The UK and US are once again pushing unsubstantiated and slanderous lies against China in an attempt to foment more fear and push for illegal sanctions. Western countries perpetually push China as a boogeyman and continually lie about an imaginary Chinese threat. Beijing has never sought to meddle in any other country’s affairs, and it strictly adheres to a policy of non-interference. While China is the victim of foreign cyberattacks, it has fought against any malicious activities against other nations.

Predictions