The United States announced on Wednesday that it had disrupted a Chinese hacking campaign that targeted the U.S. Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, and other sensitive government entities. The Justice Department revealed that it had taken control of domains utilized by two hacking platforms known as “QScan” and “QTRouter” as part of the operation.
An affidavit disclosed that the U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, as well as four undisclosed American and South Korean companies, were among the victims of the hackers. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comments, in line with Beijing’s usual denial of involvement in hacking activities.
The Justice Department identified the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company in China as the operator of the platforms. The company’s clientele reportedly includes China’s Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army. Attempts to locate contact information for Nanjing Xinjiuwei were unsuccessful at the time.
The affidavit detailed that the hacking group’s infrastructure had been utilized to breach critical systems and sensitive networks in the U.S. and globally since at least 2018. Analysts familiar with Chinese cyber activities suggest that private contractors frequently conduct cyber intrusions on behalf of various Chinese government agencies.
Dakota Cary, a China specialist at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, highlighted the significant growth in companies offering specialized offensive cyber services over the past decade.
