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Table of Contents

Chinese Nationals Charged in Global Hacking Scandal

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging four nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China with a campaign to hack into the computer systems of dozens of victim companies, universities, and government entities in the United States and abroad between 2011 and 2018.

The indictment, which was returned in May and unsealed on Friday, alleges that much of the conspiracy’s theft was focused on information that was of significant economic benefit to China’s companies and commercial sectors, including information that would allow the circumvention of lengthy and resource-intensive research and development processes.

The defendants and conspirators at the Hainan State Security Department (HSSD) sought to obfuscate the Chinese government’s role in such theft by establishing a front company, Hainan Xiandun Technology Development Co., Ltd. (“海南仙盾”) (Hainan Xiandun), since disbanded, to operate out of Haikou City, Hainan Province.

The two-count indictment alleges that Ding Xiaoyang (丁晓阳), Cheng Qingmin (程庆民), and Zhu Yunmin (朱允敏), were HSSD officers responsible for coordinating, facilitating, and managing computer hackers and linguists at Hainan Xiandun and other Ministry of State Security (MSS) front companies to conduct hacking for the benefit of China and its state-owned and sponsored instrumentalities.

The indictment alleges that Wu Shurong (吴淑荣), was a computer hacker who, as part of his job duties at Hainan Xiandun, created malware, hacked into computer systems operated by foreign governments, companies, and universities, and supervised other Hainan Xiandun hackers.

The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Targeted industries included, among others, aviation, defense, education, government, healthcare, biopharmaceutical, and maritime.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said, “These criminal charges once again highlight China continues to use cyber-enabled attacks to steal what other countries make, in flagrant disregard of its bilateral and multilateral commitments.”