US, UK accuse China of cyber espionage that claimed millions of lives

It accused the Chinese government of large-scale cyber espionage and imposed sanctions. The same goes for defense companies. 4,444 organizations on both sides of the Atlantic nicknamed the hacker group Advanced Persistent Threat 31 (APT31), referring to it as a division of China's Ministry of State Security. Officials listed a long list of targets, including White House staff, U.S. senators, British lawmakers and government officials from around the world who have criticized the Chinese government.

U.S. officials say the hackers' more than a decade of espionage efforts have targeted defense contractors, dissidents, as well as U.S. steel and energy companies. said a wide range of U.S. businesses were affected, including clothing companies. Targets include major providers of 5G mobile devices and cellular technology. Officials say even the spouses of senior U.S. officials and members of Congress have been targeted.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement that the goal of the global hacking operation was "to crush critics of the Chinese regime, compromise government institutions, and steal trade secrets."

In an indictment against seven suspected Chinese hackers unsealed on Monday, U.S. prosecutors said in court that hacking attacks compromised the work accounts, personal emails, online storage, and call records of millions of Americans. has been confirmed to have been or may have been compromised. London authorities accuse APT31 of hacking anti-China British MPs and say a second group of Chinese spies is behind a hack into Britain's election regulator that compromised the data of millions of British people. He said there was.

Chinese diplomats in the UK and US denied the allegations as unfounded. The Chinese embassy in London called the allegations a "completely fabricated and malicious slander."

Reuters could not immediately find contact information for the seven suspected hackers charged by the Justice Department.

The announcement comes as both the UK and US have imposed sanctions on companies they say are front companies for the Department of National Security involved in hacking operations.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the sanctions affected Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology and two Chinese nationals.

"Today's announcement exposes China's continued and brazen efforts to undermine our nation's cybersecurity and target Americans and our innovation," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. Stated.

Tensions over cyber espionage are rising between China and the United States, as Western intelligence agencies sound the alarm over suspected Chinese state-sponsored hacking operations.

In recent years, China has also begun to condemn suspected attacks by Western hackers. Last year, the Department of National Security alleged that the US National Security Agency had repeatedly compromised Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.