WASHINGTON − The Justice Department said Aug. 26 that it has disrupted a Chinese hacking operation that it believes is responsible for cyber break-ins at the DOJ as well as NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate and other sensitive U.S. government agencies.
In a statement, the Justice Department announced that it has seized internet domains used by two hacking platforms, dubbed “QScan” and “QTRouter,” which it said were used in the penetration campaign.
As described in court documents unsealed in the Southern District of California, a People’s Republic of China state-sponsored group known as “QTFY,” employed by China-based Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, "created and operated" the two hacking platforms.
Among the victims of QTFY's
computer intrusion activity, the Justice Department documents alleged, are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Reserve, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Senate.
USA TODAY is reaching out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment. In the past, the Beijing government has denied responsibility for any U.S.-directed hacking activity.
“State-sponsored malicious hackers preying on America’s critical infrastructure will be stopped and prosecuted. We are here to ensure security for the American people and will use every tool we have to keep that promise,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Blanche said federal law enforcement "investigated and disabled the PRC’s malicious software," in the latest in a series of technical operations to dismantle "indiscriminate hacking activities sponsored by the People’s Republic of China.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau played a key role in the disruption of "a global botnet and hacking platform used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers to target U.S. critical infrastructure."
In support of President Donald Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America, Patel said, "the FBI is surging efforts to shape adversary behavior and defend the homeland in cyberspace.”
According to court documents, QTFY offers computer hacking services to its paying customers, including China's Ministry of State Security and People’s Liberation Army, which has one of the world's most formidable hacking capabilities.
QTFY's computer hacking services work together, with QScan scanning and automatically infecting thousands of “internet-of-things” (IoT) devices worldwide, the court documents allege. Those devices are then added to the QTRouter network of QTFY-controlled devices, with QTRouter also serving as an “obfuscation network” to conceal the Chinese government-linked origin of their computer intrusion activities.
The court-authorized seizures announced Aug. 26 made QScan and QTRouter inoperable, according to the court documents.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US says Chinese hackers broke into DOJ, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate
