The Department of Justice announced Tuesday it has charged two Chinese hackers with trying to steal U.S. COVID-19 research as well as other sensitive information from businesses and government agencies.
The 11-count indictment against Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 31, alleges the Chinese nationals hacked into the computer systems of hundreds of companies, government organizations as well as individual dissidents and clergy.
They also allegedly broke into the accounts of democratic and human rights activists in the United States, Hong Kong and mainland China. The Justice Department alleges their decade-long con was not only for personal financial gain but also to benefit the Chinese government.
“The hackers stole terabytes of data from hundreds of targets which comprised a sophisticated and prolific threat to U.S. networks,” the DOJ said.
A Chinese woman living in the U.S. as a visiting researcher at Stanford University has been charged with lying about her ties to the Chinese military, federal prosecutors say. https://t.co/vNhtxE3jU9
— NBC Asian America (@NBCAsianAmerica) July 21, 2020
Justice Department: 2 Chinese hackers working for Beijing's Ministry of State Security charged with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in 'trade secrets,' including Covid-19 vaccine research, from U.S., Europe, Australia, Japan and South Korea
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) July 21, 2020