November 27, 2017

Security firm was front for advanced Chinese hacking operation, Feds say

Source: Ars Technica

Journalist: Dan Goodin

Three men who worked for an Internet security firm in China have been indicted on federal charges for hacking into at least three multinational corporations. The malware they used has been tied to the Chinese government.

Wu Yingzhuo, Dong Hao, and Xia Lei face federal charges that they conspired to steal hundreds of gigabytes of data belonging to Siemens AG, Moody’s Analytics, and the GPS technology company Trimble. The indictment, which was filed in September and unsealed on Monday, said the trio used spear phishing e-mails with malicious attachments or links to infect targeted end users. The defendants used customized tools collectively known as the UPS Backdoor Malware to gain and maintain unauthorized access to the targeted companies' networks.

Wu and Dong are founding members and equity shareholders of Guangzhou Bo Yu Information Technology Company. Xia is an employee of the company.

Read the full article here.

Author

  • Elsa B. Kania

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program

    Elsa B. Kania is an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Her research focuses on Chinese military...