Feds Seize China-Linked Hacking Infrastructure in San Diego

Federal law enforcement in San Diego has seized core infrastructure used by a Chinese state-sponsored cyber platform to target high-profile U.S. government entities and critical infrastructure. The hacking targets included NASA, the Federal Reserve, and the U.S. departments of Energy, Justice, and Health and Human Services.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI announced court-authorized domain seizures targeting QScan and QTRouter, two cyber platforms tied to a Chinese group known as QTFY. Authorities said QTFY worked with Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Co. to provide hacking services to Chinese intelligence and military arms.

The platforms infected thousands of devices worldwide to construct an obfuscation network that masked attack origins. Federal agents neutralized both tools by seizing hard-coded domains essential for the malware's communication.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said this sends a message to hackers worldwide, stating, 'State-sponsored malicious hackers preying on America’s critical infrastructure will be stopped and prosecuted.”