DOJ charges Chinese citizens in 'unprecedented' global hacking campaign

The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that it had charged five Chinese citizens allegedly involved in an “unprecedented” hacking campaign that involved the theft of code, customer data and valuable business data and affected more than 100 companies and institutions across the globe.

“The scope and sophistication of the crimes in these unsealed indictments is unprecedented,” Michael R. Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement announcing the charges.

Two businessmen in Malaysia were also accused of conspiring with the alleged hackers to profit on attacks on video game companies. The DOJ said the scheme involved hackers in both China and Malaysia and included the targeting and use of gaming platforms to defraud companies.

Officials said Beijing had turned a blind eye to the alleged criminal activity by its citizens as long as the perpetrators didn’t target Chinese companies.

Last month, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Chinese government-linked hackers have been targeting U.S. election infrastructure before the November election. China has denied claims that it hacked U.S. government agencies.

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