A 34-year-old Chinese citizen, Xu Zewei (徐泽伟), has been extradited from Italy and is set to appear in a Houston federal court on a nine-count indictment related to his involvement in computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021.
The indictment charges Xu with nine counts of unauthorized access to computers and conspiracy. According to court documents, officers of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security’s Shanghai State Security Bureau directed Xu to conduct the hacking. The MSS and SSSB are PRC intelligence services responsible for PRC’s domestic counterintelligence, non-military foreign intelligence and aspects of the PRC’s political and domestic security.
Xu allegedly worked for a company named Shanghai Powerock Network Co. Ltd., which is described as one of many “enabling” companies in the PRC that conducted hacking for the PRC government. The indictment alleges that Xu and his co-conspirator Zhang Yu (张宇), a 44-year-old PRC national, targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists and virologists conducting research into COVID-19 vaccines, treatment and testing.
The charges further allege that Xu and his co-conspirators hacked and otherwise targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists and virologists conducting research into COVID-19 vaccines, treatment and testing. For example, the charges allege that on or about Feb. 19, 2020, Xu provided an SSSB officer with confirmation that he had compromised the network of a research university located in the Southern District of Texas.
Xu was extradited from Italy on April 25 and has now made his initial appearance in Houston federal court. He remains in custody pending a detention hearing set for April 30 at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard W. Bennett. The United States is committed to pursuing hackers who steal information from U.S. businesses and universities and threaten our cybersecurity, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
“The extradition of Xu Zewei demonstrates the FBI’s reach extends well beyond U.S. borders,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Xu will now answer for his alleged role in HAFNIUM, a group responsible for a vast intrusion campaign directed by China’s Ministry of State Security that compromised more than 12,700 U.S. organizations.”
Related Federal Cases
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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