The DOJ unsealed its indictment against Chinese nationals Ni Gaobin (倪高彬), Weng Ming (翁明), Cheng Feng (程锋), Peng Yaowen (彭耀文), Sun Xiaohui (孙小辉), Xiong Wang (熊旺), and Zhao Guangzong (赵光宗) on Monday. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Between June and September 2018, the seven defendants sent more than 10,000 malicious email messages to professional and personal email addresses belonging to "high-ranking U.S. government officials and their advisors, including officials involved in international policy and foreign trade issues," the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York says.
"Since at least 2015, the Conspirators sent thousands of malicious tracking email messages to the personal and professional email accounts of government and political officials in the U.S. and elsewhere, including targets’ family members and contacts," the indictment alleges. "The malicious email messages generally purported to be from prominent American journalists, contained email subject headers purporting to contain legitimate news articles, and the body of the messages purported to include excerpts from news articles from news outlets, such as CNN and Vox."
Prosecutors go went on to say the messages contained an embedded hyperlink that served as a tracking link.
"If the recipient activated the tracking link by opening the email, information about the recipient, including the recipient’s location, IP addresses, network schematics and specific devices used to access the pertinent email accounts, was transmitted to a server controlled by the Conspirators," the indictment says. "The Conspirators used this method to enable more direct and sophisticated targeting of recipients’ home routers and other electronic devices, including those of highranking U.S. government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major U.S. political parties."
The targets allegedly included individuals at the White House; the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Treasury and State; members of Congress, including both Democratic and Republican U.S. senators from more than ten states; government officials in the Eastern District of New York; and the spouses of a high-ranking Department of Justice official, high-ranking White House officials and multiple U.S. senators.
FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CHINESE HACKERS ARE 'POISED TO ATTACK' AS INFILTRATIONS REACH 'FEVER PITCH'
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Hubei State Security Department ("HSSD"), the provincial foreign intelligence arm of the MSS located in the city of Wuhan, first created Wuhan XRZ in 2010 to carry out its computer intrusion activities, according to the indictment.
"A PRC government business license issued by the PRC Administration for Market Regulation described Wuhan XRZ as a company involved with research and experimental development, technology development, technology consultation and technology transfer," it says.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also announced it was designating Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, two of the defendants believed to be affiliated with Wuhan XRZ, "for their roles in malicious cyber operations targeting U.S. entities that operate within U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, directly endangering U.S. national security."
The U.S. Department of State announced a Rewards for Justice offer for information on the seven Chinese nationals, their organization or any associated individuals or entities, and the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office implemented matching sanctions.
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"The United States is focused on both disrupting the dangerous and irresponsible actions of malicious cyber actors, as well as protecting our citizens and our critical infrastructure," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement. "Through our whole-of-government approach and in close coordination with our British partners, Treasury will continue to leverage our tools to expose these networks and protect against these threats."
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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