Experts say they used methods associated with the Chinese military. [12], Until 2013, the Government of China has consistently denied that it is involved in hacking. [4], On 19 May 2014, the US Department of Justice announced that a Federal grand jury had returned an indictment of five 61398 officers on charges of theft of confidential business information and intellectual property from U.S. commercial firms and of planting malware on their computers. This Administration will not tolerate actions by any nation that seeks to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market.”, “For too long, the Chinese government has blatantly sought to use cyber espionage to obtain economic advantage for its state-owned industries,” said FBI Director James B. Comey. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. In some cases, it alleges, the conspirators stole trade secrets that would have been particularly beneficial to Chinese companies at the time they were stolen. Chinese Government Hackers Charged With Massive Equifax Hack. [2], The attacks documented in the summer of 2011 represent a fragment of the Comment group's attacks, which go back at least to 2002, according to incident reports and investigators. [5][6] The five are Huang Zhenyu (黄振宇), Wen Xinyu (文新宇), Sun Kailiang (孙凯亮), Gu Chunhui (顾春晖), and Wang Dong (王东). Victims : Westinghouse Electric Co. (Westinghouse), U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG (SolarWorld), United States Steel Corp. (U.S. Steel), Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) and Alcoa Inc. WASHINGTON — Four Chinese military hackers have been charged with breaking into the computer networks of the Equifax credit reporting agency … [2] The group is also known by various other names including "Advanced Persistent Threat 1" ("APT1"), "the Comment group" and "Byzantine Candor", a codename given by US intelligence agencies since 2002. [7][8][9][10], A report by the computer security firm Mandiant stated that PLA Unit 61398 is believed to operate under the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department (GSD) Third Department (总参三部二局)[1] and that there is evidence that it contains, or is itself, an entity Mandiant calls APT1, part of the advanced persistent threat that has attacked a broad range of corporations and government entities around the world since at least 2006. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Transcript for DOJ announces indictment of 4 Chinese military hackers I'm here to announce the indictment of Chinese military hackers. 18 U.S.C. Additionally, in 2010 and 2011, while Westinghouse was exploring other business ventures with SOE-1, Sun stole sensitive, non-public, and deliberative e-mails belonging to senior decision-makers responsible for Westinghouse’s business relationship with SOE-1. In 2012, at about the same time the Commerce Department found that Chinese solar product manufacturers had “dumped” products into U.S. markets at prices below fair value, Wen and at least one other, unidentified co-conspirator stole thousands of files including information about SolarWorld’s cash flow, manufacturing metrics, production line information, costs, and privileged attorney-client communications relating to ongoing trade litigation, among other things. [2][3] The unit is stationed in Pudong, Shanghai. For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times. forbes. The New York Times says Chinese hackers probably working for the military or Chinese government have carried out sustained attacks on its computer systems, breaking in and stealing the passwords of high-profile reporters and other staff members. This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division Counterespionage Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. FireEye, Inc. alone has tracked hundreds of targets in the last three years and estimates the group has attacked more than 1,000 organizations. [8], Dell SecureWorks says it believed the group includes the same group of attackers behind Operation Shady RAT, an extensive computer espionage campaign uncovered in 2011 in which more than 70 organizations over a five-year period, including the United Nations, government agencies in the United States, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, were targeted. [12], The group often compromises internal software "comment" features on legitimate web pages to infiltrate target computers that access the sites, leading it to be known as "the Comment Crew" or "Comment Group". The New York Times just published an article today stating that the paper was persistently hacked by Chinese hackers for the last four months. In April of that year, Wen gained access to ATI’s network and stole network credentials for virtually every ATI employee. [9], Most activity between malware embedded in a compromised system and the malware's controllers takes place during business hours in Beijing's time zone, suggesting that the group is professionally hired, rather than private hackers inspired by patriotic passions. [15][16], In 2013, China changed its position and openly admitted to having secretive cyber warfare units in both the military and the civilian part of the government – however, the details of their activities were left to speculation. 18 U.S.C. Thereafter, in or about June 2008, unidentified individuals stole thousands of e-mail messages and attachments from Alcoa’s computers, including internal discussions concerning that transaction. [13][14] The collective has stolen trade secrets and other confidential information from numerous foreign businesses and organizations over the course of seven years such as Lockheed Martin, Telvent, and other companies in the shipping, aeronautics, arms, energy, manufacturing, engineering, electronics, financial, and software sectors. US says China’s military was behind 2017 Equifax hack that left personal information of 145 million Americans exposed. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. “The range of trade secrets and other sensitive business information stolen in this case is significant and demands an aggressive response. "The Times says Bloomberg news was also targeted by hackers after reporting on the family fortune of another Chinese … WASHINGTON -- Hackers linked to China appear to have gained access to the sensitive background information submitted by intelligence and military … The research report links a military intelligence unit of the People's Liberation Army in Kunming, a city in southern China, to a hacker collective known as "Naikon." Conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse. An official website of the United States government. Defendants :  Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui, who were officers in Unit 61398 of the Third Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Three days later, Wang stole hostnames and descriptions of U.S. Steel computers (including those that controlled physical access to company facilities and mobile device access to company networks). But there are many more victims, and there is much more to be done. Huang facilitated hacking activities by registering and managing domain accounts that his co-conspirators used to hack into U.S. entities. “Cyber theft is real theft and we will hold state sponsored cyber thieves accountable as we would any other transnational criminal organization that steals our goods and breaks our laws.”, “This 21st century burglary has to stop,” said David Hickton, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. §§ 1028A(a)(1), (b), (c)(4), and 2, Summary of Defendants’ Conduct Alleged in the Indictment. In 2010, while Westinghouse was building four AP1000 power plants in China and negotiating other terms of the construction with a Chinese SOE (SOE-1), including technology transfers, Sun stole confidential and proprietary technical and design specifications for pipes, pipe supports, and pipe routing within the AP1000 plant buildings. Specifically for members of the Chinese … Gu managed domain accounts used to facilitate hacking activities against American entities and also tested spearphishing e-mails in furtherance of the conspiracy. Success in the global market place should be based solely on a company’s ability to innovate and compete, not on a sponsor government’s ability to spy and steal business secrets. Washington — The Department of Justice unveiled charges against four members of China's military for allegedly hacking into the credit agency Equifax and … “This prosecution vindicates hard working men and women in Western Pennsylvania and around the world who play by the rules and deserve a fair shot and a level playing field.”. The United States Department of Justice today announced charges against 4 Chinese military hackers who were allegedly behind the Equifax data breach that exposed the personal and financial data of nearly 150 million Americans. The FBI conducted the investigation that led to the charges in the indictment. In 2012, ATI was engaged in a joint venture with SOE-2, competed with SOE-2, and was involved in a trade dispute with SOE-2. The unit is stationed in Pudong, Shanghai. business insider. First Time Criminal Charges Are Filed Against Known State Actors for Hacking. The Justice Department has charged four members of the Chinese military with a 2017 hack at the credit reporting agency Equifax, a massive data breach that … [17] As a show of force towards the rest of the global community the Chinese government now openly lists their abilities when it comes to digital spying and network attack capabilities. “The indictment announced today is an important step. The Obama administration in 2014 charged five Chinese military hackers with breaking into the networks of major American corporations to siphon trade secrets. §§ 1030(a)(2)(C), 1030(c)(2)(B)(i)-(iii), and 2. Accessing (or attempting to access) a protected computer without authorization to obtain information for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain. Crimes : Thirty-one counts as follows (all defendants are charged in all counts). Chinese Military Personnel Charged with Computer Fraud, Economic Espionage and Wire Fraud for Hacking into Credit Reporting Agency Equifax Indictment Alleges Four Members of China’s People’s Liberation Army Engaged in a Three-Month Long Campaign to Steal Sensitive Personal Information of Nearly 150 Million Americans [18], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}31°20′57.43″N 121°34′24.74″E / 31.3492861°N 121.5735389°E / 31.3492861; 121.5735389, Public position of the Chinese government, People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, Chinese information operations and information warfare, People's Liberation Army General Staff Department, "APT1: Exposing One of China's Cyber Espionage Units", "Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S.", "Chinese military unit behind 'prolific and sustained hacking, "Chinese attacks 'Byzantine Candor' penetrated federal agencies, says leaked cable", "Stealing US business secrets: Experts ID two huge cyber 'gangs' in China", "Hackers Linked to China's Army Seen From EU to D.C.", "China's Comment Group Hacks Europe—and the World", "REPORT: An Overwhelming Number Of The Cyber-Attacks On America Are Coming From This Particular Army Building In China", "Sign That Chinese Hackers Have Become Professional: They Take Weekends Off", "Meet 'Comment Crew,' China's Military-Linked Hackers", "The Comment Group: The hackers hunting for clues about you", "China Finally Admits focusing on Cyber Warfare", "US accuses China government and military of cyber-spying", Office of Personnel Management data breach, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center ransomware incident, Democratic National Committee cyber attacks, Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR, Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism, Information operations and information warfare, Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PLA_Unit_61398&oldid=1011434499, Military units and formations of the People's Republic of China, Chinese advanced persistent threat groups, Information operations units and formations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles to be expanded from February 2013, Articles needing translation from Chinese Wikipedia, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Speaking at a press conference on Feb. 10, US Attorney General William Barr said the four hackers are believed to be members of the Chinese People Liberation Army … In 2012, USW was involved in public disputes over Chinese trade practices in at least two industries. Wang thereafter took steps to identify and exploit vulnerable servers on that list. [1][11] The Third and Fourth Department, responsible for electronic warfare, are believed to comprise the PLA units mainly responsible for infiltrating and manipulating computer networks. The four accused hackers are suspected members of the People’s Liberation Army, an arm of the Chinese military that was blamed in 2014 for a series of intrusions into American corporations. With our unique criminal and national security authorities, we will continue to use all legal tools at our disposal to counter cyber espionage from all sources.”, “State actors engaged in cyber espionage for economic advantage are not immune from the law just because they hack under the shadow of their country’s flag,” said John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Forensic evidence traces the base of operations to a 12-story building off Datong Road in a public, mixed-use area of Pudong in Shanghai. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. USW’s computers continued to beacon to the conspiracy’s infrastructure until at least early 2013. About three weeks after Alcoa announced a partnership with a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE-3) in February 2008, Sun sent a spearphishing e-mail to Alcoa. PLA Unit 61398 (also known as APT 1, Comment Crew, Comment Panda, GIF89a, and Byzantine Candor) (Chinese: 61398部队, Pinyin: 61398 bùduì) is the Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD)[1] of a People's Liberation Army advanced persistent threat unit that has been alleged to be a source of Chinese computer hacking attacks. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to hack into American entities, to maintain unauthorized access to their computers and to steal information from those entities that would be useful to their competitors in China, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Official websites use .gov The indictment alleges that Wang, Sun, and Wen, among others known and unknown to the grand jury, hacked or attempted to hack into U.S. entities named in the indictment, while Huang and Gu supported their conspiracy by, among other things, managing infrastructure (e.g., domain accounts) used for hacking. PLA Unit 61398 (also known as APT 1, Comment Crew, Comment Panda, GIF89a, and Byzantine Candor) (Chinese: 61398部队, Pinyin: 61398 bùduì) is the Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD) of a People's Liberation Army advanced persistent threat unit that has been alleged to be a source of Chinese computer hacking attacks. By Tom Winter and Rich Schapiro Four Chinese military hackers were charged with hacking into the Equifax credit reporting company in 2017 and … The Chinese government has restricted Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) vehicle access to military, state-owned enterprises in sensitive industries, … Transmitting a program, information, code, or command with the intent to cause damage to protected computers. APT1 is described as comprising four large networks in Shanghai, two of which serve the Pudong New Area. Attorney General William Barr announced charges against four Chinese military hackers for breaking into Equifax and stealing trade secrets as well as the personal data of … This page was last edited on 10 March 2021, at 21:41. Four Chinese military hackers have been charged in connection with a cyberattack — one that stole info from nearly 150 million Americans, according to the department of Justice. Additionally, between 2006 and at least 2009, Unit 61398 assigned Huang to perform programming work for SOE-2, including the creation of a “secret” database designed to hold corporate “intelligence” about the iron and steel industries, including information about American companies. In 2010, U.S. Steel was participating in trade cases with Chinese steel companies, including one particular state-owned enterprise (SOE-2). “This is a case alleging economic espionage by members of the Chinese military and represents the first ever charges against a state actor for this type of hacking,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. In other cases, it alleges, the conspirators also stole sensitive, internal communications that would provide a competitor, or an adversary in litigation, with insight into the strategy and vulnerabilities of the American entity. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Updated at 12:50 p.m. ET The Justice Department announced charges Monday against four members of the Chinese military for allegedly hacking … An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. It is one of more than 20 APT groups with origins in China.
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