US Disrupts Chinese Hacking Operation Targeting Sensitive Government Agencies

The US Department of Justice has announced that it disrupted a Chinese hacking operation targeting sensitive government agencies. The hackers, using two platforms called QScan and QTRouter, attempted to breach networks at the Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, and others. According to an affidavit, the hackers' victims also included the US Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and four unnamed companies in the US and South Korea.

The platforms were run by a China-based firm, Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, which had clients including China's civilian intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, and its military, the People's Liberation Army. The hackers used tools they developed to compromise critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks worldwide since at least 2018.

The Justice Department said it seized domains used by the hacking platforms, but not all attempts were successful. For example, the hackers tried to access NASA networks in August 2019 by targeting a virtual private network vulnerability, but failed.