WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2021) The US Justice Department on Monday announced charges against four Chinese nationals who it said worked with China's government to conduct a computer intrusion campaign targeting dozens of companies, universities and government entities in the United States and other countries.
"The indictment alleges that much of the conspiracy's theft was focused on information that was of significant economic benefit to China's companies and commercial sectors, including information that would allow the circumvention of lengthy and resource-intensive research and development processes," the Justice Department said in a press release.
The Justice Department announced the indictment, which was filed in May and newly unsealed Friday, on Monday as the United States and other countries accused China's government of a global hacking campaign.
The indictment alleges that the four accused - Ding Xiaoyang, Cheng Qingmin, Zhu Yunmin and Wu Shurong - worked with the Hainan State Security Department (HSSD) to target "dozens of victim companies, universities and government entities in the United States and abroad between 2011 and 2018," according to the release.
The scheme targeted victims located in the US, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK, the release said. The attacks were aimed at aviation, defense, education, government, health care, biopharmaceutical and maritime sectors among others, it added.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, and faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the release.
