Cyber Crime
USA Offers Reward of Up to Rs 830 Crore for Information Leading to Arrest of Chinese Hacker
Washington: The US Justice Department has indicted 12 Chinese nationals, including two officers from China’s Ministry of Public Security, for a series of cyberattacks, including a 2024 breach of the US Treasury. The accused allegedly targeted US-based Chinese dissidents, foreign ministries of several Asian countries, religious organizations, and multiple US government agencies.
Among those indicted are eight employees of Anxun Information Technology Co. Ltd, also known as i-Soon, and two ministry officials. The New York indictment accuses them of hacking into email accounts, cell phones, servers, and websites between 2016 and 2023. “For years, these 10 defendants—including two Chinese government officials—used advanced hacking techniques to gather sensitive information for the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky said.
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The Justice Department revealed that the Chinese ministries of public security and state security paid the hackers between Rs 870,400 and Rs 6,528,000 per hacked email inbox. In other cases, the hackers exploited vulnerabilities and sold stolen data to the Chinese government.
The State Department has offered a reward of up to Rs 870,400,000 for information leading to the arrest of the accused, who remain at large. Their hacking targets reportedly included a missionary organization, a human rights group advocating religious freedom in China, a Hong Kong newspaper, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, India, South Korea, and Indonesia.
APT 27 ‘Silk Typhoon’ Hackers Also Indicted
In a separate case, a Washington court unsealed an indictment against Yin Kecheng and Zhou Shuai, alleged members of the hacker group APT 27, also known as “Silk Typhoon.”
The Justice Department accused them of exploiting network vulnerabilities, conducting reconnaissance, and installing PlugX malware for persistent access. Their targets included US technology firms, think tanks, law firms, defense contractors, local governments, healthcare systems, and universities. Yin was previously sanctioned by the US in January for his alleged role in the 2024 Treasury Department hack. Reports suggest that then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other senior officials were among those targeted.
The State Department has announced a Rs 174,080,000 reward each for information leading to the arrests of Yin and Zhou, who are believed to be in China. The US and other nations have repeatedly accused China of state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting governments, militaries, and businesses. However, Beijing has denied the allegations, maintaining that it opposes cyberattacks and actively cracks down on them.