• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits

 | 

Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data

 | 

A flaw in Catwatchful spyware exposed logins of +62,000 users

 | 

China-linked group Houken hit French organizations using zero-days

 | 

Cybercriminals Target Brazil: 248,725 Exposed in CIEE One Data Breach

 | 

Europol shuts down Archetyp Market, longest-running dark web drug marketplace

 | 

Kelly Benefits data breach has impacted 550,000 people, and the situation continues to worsen as the investigation progresses

 | 

Cisco removed the backdoor account from its Unified Communications Manager

 | 

U.S. Sanctions Russia's Aeza Group for aiding crooks with bulletproof hosting

 | 

Qantas confirms customer data breach amid Scattered Spider attacks

 | 

CVE-2025-6554 is the fourth Chrome zero-day patched by Google in 2025

 | 

U.S. CISA adds TeleMessage TM SGNL flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

A sophisticated cyberattack hit the International Criminal Court

 | 

Esse Health data breach impacted 263,000 individuals

 | 

Europol dismantles €460M crypto scam targeting 5,000 victims worldwide

 | 

CISA and U.S. Agencies warn of ongoing Iranian cyber threats to critical infrastructure

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Canada bans Hikvision over national security concerns

 | 

Denmark moves to protect personal identity from deepfakes with new copyright law

 | 

Ahold Delhaize data breach affected over 2.2 Million individuals

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • US DoJ charged two Chinese hackers working with MSS

US DoJ charged two Chinese hackers working with MSS

Pierluigi Paganini July 22, 2020

US DoJ charged two Chinese hackers working with China’s Ministry of State Security with hacking into computer systems of government organizations and companies worldwide.

US DoJ charged two Chinese hackers working with China’s Ministry of State Security with hacking into computer systems of government organizations and companies worldwide. According to the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, the Chinese nationals and residents LI Xiaoyu (李啸宇 aka Oro0lxy), 34, and DONG Jiazhi (董家志), 33, were allegedly involved in a cyber espionage campaign that is lasting more than ten years (from September 1, 2009, and continuing through on or about July 7, 2020).

“A federal grand jury in Spokane, Washington, returned an indictment earlier this month charging two hackers, both nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China (China), with hacking into the computer systems of hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad, including Hong Kong and China.” reads the press release published by the DoJ. “The defendants in some instances acted for their own personal financial gain, and in others for the benefit of the MSS or other Chinese government agencies.  The hackers stole terabytes of data which comprised a sophisticated and prolific threat to U.S. networks.”

Chinese hackers

The Chinese hackers, who were trained in computer application technologies at the same Chinese university, also acted for personal financial gain and stole terabytes of data from the victims.

The hackers targeted companies and organizations from multiple countries including the United States, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The duo targeted organizations in multiple industries, including high tech manufacturing, medical device, civil, and industrial engineering, business, educational, gaming software, solar energy, pharmaceuticals and defense.

In at least one case, the Chinese hackers sought to blackmail the victim entity, by threatening to leak its stolen source code online. According to prosecutors, the defendants recently also probed for vulnerabilities in computer networks of companies developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

“From at least in or about September 1, 2009, and continuing through on or about July 7, 2020, in the Eastern District of Washington and elsewhere, the Defendants did knowingly conspire and agree with each other, and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury including officers of the MSS (the Guangdong State Security Department, “GSSD”) and MSS Officer 1,” states the indictment filed on July 7.

According to the indictment, the hackers exploit known vulnerabilities in popular web server software, web application development suites, and software collaboration programs to gain initial access to target networks.

The hackers also targeted insecure default configurations in common popular applications. Once achieved a foothold in the target network, the defendants used their initial unauthorized access to deploy web shells such as China Chopper and credential-stealing software.

Experts noticed that the Chinese hackers often returned to previously hacked entities in the attempt of compromising them once again.

“The defendants frequently returned to re-victimize companies, government entities, and organizations from which they had previously stolen data, in some cases years after the initial successful data theft.” continues the DoJ. “In several instances, however, the defendants were unsuccessful in this regard, due to the efforts of the FBI and network defenders.”

The two defendants also provided the MSS with personal data of the victims, including democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad (i.e. Hong Kong and China).

According to the indictment, Li received by one of the MSS officers support to compromise servers with a zero-day exploit targeting a popular web browser.

“The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of unauthorized access of a computer, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and seven counts of aggravated identity theft, which each carries a mandatory sentence of two non-consecutive years in prison.” concludes the DoJ.

Prosecutors reported that the MSS officers who helped the defendants in a number of attacks worked for the GSSD at “Number 5, 6th Crossroad, Upper Nonglin Road. Yuexiu District, in Guangzhou [..].”

“China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on call’ to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party’s insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies’ hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers declared.

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Chinese hackers)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

China Chinese hackers Cyberespionage Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 04, 2025
Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 04, 2025
Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits

    Security / July 04, 2025

    Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data

    Laws and regulations / July 04, 2025

    A flaw in Catwatchful spyware exposed logins of +62,000 users

    Malware / July 04, 2025

    China-linked group Houken hit French organizations using zero-days

    APT / July 03, 2025

    Cybercriminals Target Brazil: 248,725 Exposed in CIEE One Data Breach

    Data Breach / July 03, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT