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DOJ: Chinese hackers stole "hundreds of millions of dollars" of secrets
Two state-sponsored hackers in China targeted US businesses in a "sophisticated and prolific threat" for more than 10 years, both for financial gain and to steal trade secrets, the Department of Justice said today.
The 11-count indictment (PDF), which was made public today, alleges Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi worked with China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) and other agencies to hack into "hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad."
Li and Dong were allegedly infiltrating networks of businesses in a wide array of sectors, including "high tech manufacturing; civil, industrial, and medical device engineering; business, educational, and gaming software development; solar energy; and pharmaceuticals," as well as defense contractors, since at least September 2009. In recent months, prosecutors allege, the two were seeking ways in to "the networks of biotech and other firms publicly known for work on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and testing technology" in at least 11 countries, including the US.
The indictment does not name the firms in question, only saying that "on or about January 25 and 27," Li was trying to break into networks at a Maryland biotech firm and a Massachusetts biotech firm, both of which were publicly known by that point to be working on COVID-19 vaccines. Matching up the timelines, the targets seem to have been Novavax, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2020, @11:50PM (1 child)
So let me continue this conversation.
"The 11-count indictment (PDF), which was made public today, alleges Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi worked with China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) and other agencies to hack into "hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad.""
"victim companies"
My government shouldn't really be concerned with wasting my taxpayer money protecting companies. The companies should protect themselves. If they are hacked that's their own fault and their own problem. I don't blame China, I blame the companies for putting their sensitive information on the Internet and not having the proper security to secure it.
Now if they hacked personal user data that might affect individuals that's another story. Perhaps the government can inform the potentially affected citizens so they can take the steps required to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft and to sue the companies involved for putting their personal information on the Internet and not properly protecting it. If I do business with a company and it puts my personal information on the Internet and doesn't properly protect it and China hacks it I don't blame China. I blame the company that I am doing business with, they are the ones that should be sued by me and perhaps fined by the government.
"governments"
Most of the information that they hack from the government should probably be freely and openly available to the public. Governments have a bad habit of hiding everything. So this is no big deal if the Chinese government hacks it. I wish they would make it available to everyone as they probably should.
Now for the information that is justifiably kept secret for whatever reason I, again, don't blame China. I blame the government(s) for putting such information on the Internet and not properly protecting it. They are to blame. They are the ones wasting our taxpayer money and being negligent and the government officials responsible are the ones that should be punished and lose their positions and the people need to elect officials that will ensure the right people are managing government information. If anything the DOJ should go after the governments that are being negligent with this information if there really is a justifiable reason for such information to be kept secret.
"non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists"
Again, these organizations should be responsible for protecting their own data. It shouldn't be up to the DOJ.
If it's that these organizations are buying routers from companies that don't put the appropriate security measures in their routers then, if anything, the DOJ should go after the companies selling those routers to fix all the security loopholes. Stop blaming China and appropriate the blame on the correct party. The people making, selling, using, and managing software and hardware with security loopholes are the ones to blame.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2020, @11:56PM
and if the U.S. really is so 'superior' to China that they have to hack us for our supposedly superior information then why is it we can't make anything that they can't hack? Or why aren't we even smart enough not to put such information on the Internet to begin with. Instead of blaming them perhaps we should look within and acknowledge that we aren't that much better than them and look to improve ourselves so that we can make things that aren't so easily hacked. Or simply don't put sensitive information on the Internet.