BREAKING: DOJ CHARGES CHINA'S MSS INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WITH GLOBAL HACKING CONSPIRACY ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AROUND COVID-19

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Industries targeted by the Chinese state: Defense, health, Pharma, clergy, democracy activists. TERABYTES OF DATA STOLEN BY CHINESE INTELLIGENCE.

CHINESE STATE PARTNERING DIRECTLY WITH ORGANIZED CRIME FOR OFFENSIVE CYBERWARFARE ON MULTIPLE NATIONS

Live link here: https://www.justice.gov/live 

Intrusions were for "Made in China 2025" strategic plan to steal IP for defense, clean energy, robotic, railway, more.

Aim was to out compete US companies through economic espionage by Chinese intelligence services and organized criminals.

Targets: Massachusetts and California Pharma, Massachusetts medical device company partnered at the time with a Chinese partner.

DOJ indictment shows that China provides safe haven for organized crime hackers to both steal IP for the State, but also to pursue their own profit, particularly ransom for cryptocurrency.

Multiple countries' governments also victimized by China to make their own statements in the coming hours.

David Bowdich, FBI: As DIRFBI Wray has said, Chinese economic espionage is #1 threat to the United States.

CHARGES TODAY TARGET CHINESE STATE OFFICIALS FOR THEIR CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEADING UP CYBERWARFARE ATTACKS.

BOWDICH: China's state actions are not what we expect from a national government but from ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES.

(EG note: hot damn! )

Bowdich shouts out not just Special Agents but FBI Analysts and Linguists in their efforts to catch Chinese intelligence operations.

(W00t!!! WAY TO GO, INTEL PEEPS! )

BOWDICH: This doesn't mean don't do business with China, or not to welcome Chinese students, or blame Chinese people - it's the State and Intel Service causing the problem.

HYSLOP, USA-EDWA: Cybercrime indictments started with attacks on Dept. of Energy in the Eastern District of Washington.

Hackers operated from China, with individual Chinese citizens supported by Chinese MSS intelligence service.

HYSLOP: Initial attacks from this investigation started at Dept. of Energy facility at Hanford in Eastern Washington.

FBI was involved. Hacking operations moved on to multiple other technology firms, and ultimately to COVID-19 RESEARCH.
https://www.hanford.gov 

HYSLOP: Chinese hackers are individuals in these attacks for their own benefit, but are supported by Chinese state intelligence services - and have moved on to targeting U.S. defense contractors.

DUDA, FBI SeattleFO: This is a multiple-year investigation against Chinese attacks on networks around the world.

The value of the IP stolen by these TWO DEFENDANTS is in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

DUDA: Hackers attempted extortion of economic espionage victims, something rarely seen in these sorts of operations. They were motivated by their own profit, but also supported the Chinese state's intelligence operations.

It ain't often that you see criminal indictment that directly mentions intelligence officers and the intel service they work for. #HINT #NICEOPSECROFLMAO

That we know which individuals provided the Chinese state's intel service with this stolen information - FOR A CRIMINAL INDICTMENT, NOT AN INTELLIGENCE PRODUCT - is nothing short of astounding.

This ain't normal, kids.

Dear China,
Your OPSEC may very possibly suck. A lot. Please see the phrases "MSS Officers known to the GRAND JURY.
Love,
GTG

See, this is the problem with nation-states working with basically Mob contractors - espionage can't be charged to individual citizens, but individual crimes can.

And then your nation-state officers become co-conspirators. WHOOPS!

Wait, so the hackers stole intellectual property, then either sold it to state-owned Chinese companies *or* their intelligence service.

Which companies? Um...HUAWEI? ZTE? Any others?

Hold on a minute - this would make a lot of blurry lines between organized crime, state intel services, and Chinese firms...

...man, that would make trade relationships really, really difficult!