US Disrupts Chinese Hacking Operation Targeting Sensitive Government Agencies

US officials have disrupted a Chinese hacking operation that targeted sensitive government agencies, including the Department of Justice and NASA. The operation, attributed to the Beijing government, used two hacking platforms called 'QScan' and 'QTRouter' to burrow into US target networks.

The Justice Department announced that it has seized internet domains used by these platforms, making them inoperable. The court documents unsealed in the Southern District of California alleged that hackers from a Chinese state-sponsored group known as 'QTFY,' employed by Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, created and operated these platforms.

The victims of QTFY's computer intrusion activity include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Reserve, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and the US Senate. The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing 'firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks'.