Following this complaint, the US Department of Justice explained in a statement The seven hackers in question were charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud.
According to officials, The group of hackers is part of the cyber espionage program of the Hubei State Security Department, which is part of the Chinese government's Ministry of State Security and is based in the city of Wuhan. The APT31 group's cyber espionage campaign spanned several years and targeted journalists, politicians and corporations. Targets are subject to sophisticated phishing campaigns that compromise certain email systems and networks.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told North American media that the group's campaign included more than ten thousand malicious emails to thousands of victims on multiple continents.
“As stated in today's indictment, this thriving global hacking operation – supported by the Chinese government – targeted journalists, policymakers and companies to suppress critics of the Chinese regime, compromise government agencies and steal trade secrets.”He explained.
Targets of APT31 attacks include a Texas energy company, a California managed service provider and several US aerospace specialists in Alabama and Tennessee.
Then the Justice Department and the Treasury Department blamed it Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company is a cover for APT31 – a notorious China-based hacking group previously known for targeting “a wide range of senior US government officials and advisers”, including White House officials, members of Congress from both parties. Various departments of the US government.
The United Kingdom also uses sanctions
Hours later, in 2021, the United Kingdom accused China of cyber attacks against the British Electoral Commission and several members of Parliament. The British government, along with the United States, announced the use of economic sanctions against China and summoned the Chinese ambassador to London.
British officials have made it clear that sanctioned individuals are responsible for a cyber attack that obtained information about tens of thousands of UK voters and for cyber espionage against politicians who have spoken out about threats from China.
According to the British Foreign Office, The invasion of electoral records and data “did not have any impact on the electoral process, affected any individual's rights or access to the democratic process, or affected the electoral record”..
According to the Guardian, three UK politicians admitted they were among the targets. They were members of the Parliamentary Coalition on China, an international group focused on reducing Beijing's influence abroad and addressing human rights concerns. Targets include former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith.
In August, the The EC identified the breach of the system in October 2022, although it added that “hostile actors” were able to access the servers for the first time in 2021.
At the time, the watchdog said the data included names and addresses of registered voters, but most of the information was already in the public domain.
British authorities did not identify the company or the two individuals sanctioned, but confirmed they were involved in the activities of the Chinese cyber group APT 31.
The New Zealand government said in the past few hours that China-linked hackers have begun a state-sponsored campaign to target New Zealand's parliament in 2021.
The Chinese embassy in New Zealand has already categorically rejected “these baseless and irresponsible allegations” and expressed its “deepest displeasure”.According to a statement from the Chinese diplomatic mission.
Beijing characterized the allegations by London as “malicious slander”. The allegations are “totally baseless and malicious defamation”.said the Chinese Embassy in the UK.
In a press release, New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSP) Minister Judith Collins said, “The use of cyber-espionage to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere in the world is unacceptable”. Collins added that the agency had established links between a state-sponsored actor linked to China and malicious cyber activities targeting parliamentary institutions in New Zealand.
“The GCSB's National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) completed a robust technical assessment in 2021 following a compromise of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Parliamentary Service, and attributed this activity to a team commissioned by the PRC government. [República Popular da China] Also known as APT40”..
“Fortunately, in this case, the NCSC worked with the affected companies to control the activity and remove the actor shortly after they accessed the “network,” he assured.
Collins said Wellington would not follow Washington and London in adopting sanctions against China because the country has no legislation authorizing such penalties or plans to introduce legislation. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters confirmed New Zealand's concerns had been raised with Chinese Ambassador Wang Xiaolong.
“This kind of foreign interference is unacceptable and we urge China to refrain from such activities in the future.”, said Peters. “Whenever New Zealand sees worrying behavior like this, it will continue to speak out consistently and predictably,” he declared.
