US says Chinese hackers broke into Justice Department, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate

On Wednesday, the United States announced it had thwarted a Chinese hacking operation that targeted several sensitive government agencies, including the Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, and the Senate. The Justice Department seized domains linked to two hacking platforms, QScan and QTRouter, which were used in the campaign.

According to an affidavit, the Chinese hacking operation, which began as early as 2018, had compromised critical infrastructure and sensitive networks worldwide. The platforms were operated by a China-based firm, Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, which had clients including China's civilian intelligence agency and its military, the People's Liberation Army. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

The hacking attempts included an unsuccessful breach of NASA's networks in August 2019, targeting a virtual private network vulnerability, and intrusions at three unnamed Energy Department laboratories, the National Institutes of Health, an unnamed Health and Human Services agency, and a U.S. security device manufacturer in September 2024, as detailed in the affidavit.

Chinese-linked hacking campaigns have compromised multiple sensitive U.S. government and private networks in recent years, with the FBI linking one such breach to China in March.

Experts in Chinese cyber activity suggest that private contractors frequently execute high-profile intrusions on behalf of various Chinese government agencies. Dakota Cary, a China analyst at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, noted that the number of companies providing specialized offensive services has surged over the past decade.