China intensifies hacking campaign
Experts see evidence of growing Chinese hacking threat in newly released court documents.
The US government has seized digital infrastructure behind a Chinese hacking operation that targeted high-profile organizations such as NASA, the Federal Reserve, and the Senate starting in 2018, according to court documents. This campaign, carried out by hackers linked to a Chinese state-sponsored group called QTFY, demonstrates Beijing's increasing scale and persistence in cyber operations, emphasized Lauryn Williams, a former White House official.
The Justice Department's seizure of three domains used by QTFY highlights the vulnerability of US infrastructure, she added. QTFY operated two complementary hacking platforms that targeted various US government agencies, including the Justice Department, NASA, and the National Institutes of Health, as well as potential victims like defense contractors, according to experts.
Nikita Shah, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that the data theft suggests classic espionage, while also raising concerns about the theft of US intellectual property, particularly from national laboratories and defense contractors.
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